All the main talking points from another turbulent day in Jose Mourinho's reign as Burnley grab an heroic point at Old Trafford in an incredible game where Burnley survived 20 United corners to earn a scarcely believable draw.
Old Davey Moyes might take some solace in the midst of misery at Sunderland with the stat that after ten games he had earned 17 points as United manager while Jose has garnered just the 15.
Juan of a kind - Mata wears the captain's armband
One could almost hear the sound of head-scratching as Mata ran onto the pitch wearing the captain's armband. This is a player whose glorious Chelsea career came to a stuttering halt under Jose Mourinho and who it seemed was finding it hard to gain trust under the Portuguese at United. Until today, it seemed.
Remember how we were going to sell Mata 'cos Mourinho hates him, but now he's captain?
— Sam Homewood (@SamHomewood) October 29, 2016
Darmian has two penalty appeals waved away
Darmian went over under a tackle by Jon Flanagan in the first half. Mark Clattenburg waved away United's furious claims and Jose Mourinho ended up watching the match from the stands (see below) after getting a little too excited.
Responses to the penalty claim were suitably (and predictably) mixed.
So Jose sent to the stands at Old Trafford because the ref didn't give a penalty for a Darmian dive? What next? Complaints re: Burnley's bus
— Anfield Fans (@Anfieldfans) October 29, 2016
Typical abu performance Clattenburg
Darmian inside Flanagan, catches him clearly...looked a stone wall penalty from me
We move on.#MUFC— Fletch™ (@FletchTM) October 29, 2016
As for further United claims regarding a second half challenge on Darmian from Ashley Barnes, all the tackle can be described as is 'old school'. He got the ball though!
'The Special One' sees red...
Jose Mourinho in the stand #MUFC pic.twitter.com/X7lg0wz8bB
— Full Time DEVILS (@FullTimeDEVILS) October 29, 2016
Jose Mourinho lost his rag when United weren't awarded a penalty for an alleged trip on Darmian. General consensus on the incident was that this was the probable reason for him being sent to the stands by Mark Clattenburg at half-time. Cue pitches of Jose sat in the stands doing a fine impersonation of a grounded schoolchild.
Jose Mourinho now sat in the stands after apparently being sent off at half time. Presumably to do with Darmian penalty incident.
— Rob Dawson (@RobDawsonESPN) October 29, 2016
...followed by Ander Herrera
Seemed slightly harsh on Herrera after he lost his footing, causing him to crash into a Burnley player, and was sent off for a second yellow card.
Big Pete wasn't happy.
Going from bad to worse at for @ManUtd at Old Trafford. Mourinho sent to the stands and a totally ridiculous red card to Herrera!
— Peter Schmeichel (@Pschmeichel1) October 29, 2016
Man United old boy Tom Heaton plays out of his skin
Tom Heaton's time as a Manchester United senior player consisted mainly of time spent on loan at various clubs. Very occasionally he would venture as far as the substitutes' bench, but he left the club aged 24 having made no appearances as a senior player on the hallowed Old Trafford turf. How he must have enjoyed his return, then - making excellent first half saves from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard before leaving the pitch to applause from the away fans. And his second half wasn't much different, including a brilliant double save and a stop from Zlatan Ibrahimovic that was out of the toppest of drawers.
Big Pete enjoyed it.
Tom Heatons save from Ibrahimovic is in my opinion one of the best in @premierleague history. Just saying!
— Peter Schmeichel (@Pschmeichel1) October 29, 2016
Henrikh Mkhitaryan enjoys the match with the rest of us - from the safety of his own couch
Jose Mourinho said before the game that Mkhitaryan was a player that perhaps needed "time to become the top player he knows he can be" and acknowledged that certain players simply take a bit longer to adapt to the different intensity offered by the Premier League. Mkhitaryan has had a tough time undergoing this adaptation process, and a spell out injured in October didn't help. Jose Mourinho decided that the best way for him to continue "adapting" would be to "adapt" from his own living room.
Unsure how Mkhi will adjust to aggression of PL by watching on his couch
Maybe he has to barge his Mrs out way to get to kettle at HT #MUFC— Jonas Hen Shrag (@JonathanShrager) October 29, 2016
...and finally, mixed bag for the Irish
Solid performance from Jeff Hendrick in midfield - he didn't look massively out of place against Pogba and Herrera in a very defensive performance. But bad news on the Stephen Ward front. The recent Balls.ie 'Football Show' guest hobbled off towards the end of the first half. Worrying signs.
Quote of the day
Chris Waddle on Tom Heaton's yellow card:
You can't give him a yellow card, the way he's played!
