Manchester United vs. Burnley live score, updates, highlights from Premier League match

Manchester United's holiday season has been more frustrating than festive, and the Red Devils have one more chance to turn things around as they host Burnley at Old Trafford on Thursday.

United (7th place, 28 pts) was handed one of the softest December schedules of any Premier League team, but COVID-19 and poor form has derailed what was meant to be a flying festive fixture list. Narrow and unconvincing 1-0 wins over Crystal Palace and Norwich City were followed by a pair of COVID-19 postponements of games against Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion.

The latest slip, a 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Monday that saw the struggling Magpies unlucky to come away with all three points, now puts interim manager Ralf Rangnick in a delicate position after following up the departed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. A convincing win over Burnley would go a long way towards ushering in 2022 on a high note and easing the negative press.

MORE: Why is Man United called the Red Devils?

Burnley (18th place, 11 pts), meanwhile, is in desperate need of a positive result, and the Clarets will be smelling blood in the water. Watching relegation-threatened Newcastle produce a positive performance against the Red Devils will no doubt galvanize a Burnley squad in need of momentum.

Like United, Burnley's holiday schedule was wrecked by COVID-19 postponements, with three straight matches pushed, meaning it hasn't played a fixture since a 0-0 draw with West Ham on Dec. 12. United seemed to struggle from rust after its two-match layoff, so with Burnley looking at nearly three weeks without a game, attacking flow could be problematic for the visitors. That for a club that already hasn't scored in three straight matches, leaving Burnley desperate for a sign of life up front.

Sporting News will be following the match live and providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

Goals: 8' – Manchester United: Scott McTominay27' – Manchester United: Own goal (Ben Mee)35' – Manchester United: Cristiano Ronaldo38' – Burnley: Aaron Lennon

(All times Eastern)

39th minute: Ronaldo just came VERY close to a fourth for United and his second of the night. A gift on the defensive end by Burnley put Ronaldo through, but Hennessey does well to come off his line and smother the chance.

38th minute: GOAL! Burnley! A loose touch by Eric Bailly gifts an opening for Aaron Lennon, who does well to beat Harry Maguire one-on-one and found the back of the net. It's the first goal in four games for Burnley, and it's a glimmer of hope for the visitors at Old Trafford. What a first half.

35th minute: GOAL! Manchester United! Cristiano Ronaldo will take credit for the goal, but Scott McTominay did all the hard work. The United midfielder lets rip an absolute MISSILE from just outside the top of the box, and it produces a world-class save from Wayne Hennessey. Unfortunately for the Burnley goalkeeper, Ronaldo was there all alone to tap the rebound into an open net. This is a blitz from United, and Rangnick will be happy with the response after making six changes from the draw at St. James Park.

30th minute: It's all Manchester United. Cristiano Ronaldo comes close, but the ball gets stuck at this feet and his effort is blocked. Ronaldo is FURIOUS, but this time only with himself, not a teammate.

27th minute: GOAL! Manchester United! Jadon Sancho, what an odd goal. His first Premier League goal at Old Trafford sees the England international cut in from an impossibly tight angle, and somehow despite the presence of no less than four Burnley defenders, he delivered a slow-roller pass Hennessey and into the far corner.

Ben Mee seems to have possibly helped the ball find the back of the net with a very slight touch off his foot, and there's a chance this could get changed to an own-goal, as the ball might have gone wide without the slight deflection. Either way, Manchester United is in a commanding position 2-0 up, and for now it's Sancho's to claim.

UPDATE: This goal was later confirmed to be an own-goal, unfortunately for Jadon Sancho. He will have to wait for his first official Premier League goal at Old Trafford.

23rd minute: Slight chance for Burnley as Nemanja Matic commits a silly foul down near the corner flag. Burnley's set-piece delivery finds the head of Tarkowski but the challenge from De Gea puts him off and Maguire clears.

20th minute: Luke Shaw charges through the attacking half and nobody closes him down, so the left-back lets loose and beats Wayne Hennessey but beats the near post as well.

17th minute: Things have seriously settled down since the goal. It appears that Edinson Cavani is occasionally dropping into a midfield like a #10 in a 4-2-3-1, and other times he roams up next to Ronaldo and leaves a space in the middle. Burnley has been quiet since the opener, looking to sit back and deal with Manchester United in the buildup.

8th minute: GOAL! Manchester United! That's a hysterical goal, because Scott McTominay's just completely taken the ball off the feet of Cristiano Ronaldo, and he's scored with it. A ball from Mason Greenwood up to the top of the box went to Ronaldo, but a heavy touch pushing it centrally onto his left created a bit of space between him and the ball. McTominay saw the opening and pounced, firing low into the bottom-right corner. An early opener for the home side in the rain against a defensively stout Burnley side is critical for Ralf Rangnick.

5th minute: Oh my. Cristiano Ronaldo. It should be 1-1! Ronaldo is clean through, and if you want anyone in that situation, it's probably the Portuguese superstar. His right foot sends it high and wide, not even troubling Wayne Hennessey. Wow. How on Earth did he miss that???

Somehow, it's still 0-0. One massive chance for either side missed.

4th minute: It should be 1-0 Burnley, a warning sign for Manchester United. A wonderful delivery by Matt Lowton – on his 50th appearance for Burnley – found Chris Wood all alone in the penalty area, but his leaping header goes over the bar. The Burnley striker should have done much better, there was nobody remotely close. It looked almost like United played a failed offside trap.

1st minute: We're under way! It's pouring rain, as it has been for a few hours. Both teams could badly go for a result here, and that seems to favor Burnley who will just be happy to get a game in as scheduled.

It appears Aaron Lennon, usually a wide player, is playing centrally for Burnley, slotting in behind Chris Wood. Interesting setup we haven't seen before from Sean Dyche, at least not recently. United, meanwhile, look in a very attacking mood.

3:13 p.m. ET: Just minutes to kickoff, and the Old Trafford fans are wishing legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson a happy birthday, as he turns 80 tomorrow, New Year's Eve. Best wishes to an influential figure!

2:58 p.m. ET: Home side is out for final warmups at Old Trafford with 15 minutes until kickoff.

2:31 p.m. ET: Manchester United will hope to have history on its side tonight against Burnley.

2:15 p.m. ET: Lineups are in. There are a host of surprises for Man United as Ralf Rangnick looks to switch things up. He changes both full-backs, bringing in Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw, while sitting Raphael Varane for Eric Bailly in the middle. Fred drops to the bench for Nemanja Matic, while Mason Greenwood shifts out wide opposite Jadon Sancho, with Edinson Cavani starting alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. That's about as wholesale of changes as you'll see at Manchester United from one league game to another. Rangnick's not happy.

For Burnley, Wayne Hennessey comes in at goalkeeper for Nick Pope, while it's Aaron Lennon into the lineup, not Maxwel Cornet who was expected to return but has not. A number of Burnley players are missing due to COVID-19, including Pope, hence the replacement in goal.

1:56 p.m. ET: Weather will be a factor today. It's currently pouring in Manchester.

1:20 p.m. ET: This is the sort of schtick that Manchester United has been forced to endure since the Newcastle match with all the talk of negative body language and speculation that the players are not taking well to Ralf Rangnick's late training sessions. We'll see if it triggers a reaction.