Twitter Reacts as Chris Smalling Leads Manchester Utd to Victory over Burnley

Burnley arrived at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening knowing that their last goal there came in December 1975 and their last win at the Theatre of Dreams was in September 1962.

The Clarets earned their first goal at the stadium in 40 years but were ultimately felled in a performance that belonged to super sub Chris Smalling. 

Before the game, most of the chatter on Twitter concerned Louis van Gaal's decision to bench Juan Mata and his continued denial of the existence of Ander Herrera...

"

Herrera and Mata benched again. What in the name of God is the philosophy here?

— Aishaa. (@BeingWackyy) February 11, 2015"

With the news that Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao were starting up front, Manchester United fans were also irked by LVG's decision to play Wayne Rooney further back once again...

"

Rooney in midfield once again. ffs

— James Stretford (@Jamesstretford) February 11, 2015"

"

Herrera SHOULD be starting in midfield alongside Di María, RvP/Falcao should be dropped and Rooney should be partnering one of them up top.

— Liam (@OffsideLiam) February 11, 2015"

In the wake of Van Gaal's embarrassing spat with Sam Allardyce, some worrying long-ball statistics also circulated before kick-off. With so much Route One action, it seemed unlikely that Rooney or any other midfielder would actually touch the ball...

"

#mufc have the 2nd highest long ball total (1,861) in the PL this season. Burnley are 1st with 1,877. [opta]

— UtdReport.com (@UtdReport) February 9, 2015"

Within the first few minutes, Michael Keane had a golden chance to put the visitors ahead but missed a header from around four yards. Phil Jones suffered a typical amount of abuse for failing to track the Burnley defender—and picking up an injury in the process...

"

Phil Jones' ankles are made of paper

— Rudi Davies (@DaviesRudi) February 11, 2015"

Jones was replaced by Smalling, who nodded in a header with his first touch of the ball and started an avalanche of memes...

"

Chris Smalling pic.twitter.com/93rKei1WmN

— Troll Football (@Troll__Football) February 11, 2015"

"

Smalling finishes well 22 seconds after entering the fray. Probably not for the first time. pic.twitter.com/vewO1Ma598

— Football Tips (@footballtips) February 11, 2015"

The Red Devils, however, only held the lead for six minutes as the Clarets applied pressure and Danny Ings equalised with an excellent diving header...

"

Tripper's ball into Ings is tremendous, poor from Di María as he gives away possession. Marking on Ings is non-existent.

— Liam (@OffsideLiam) February 11, 2015"

After the goal, it appeared Burnley were getting the better of the hosts, much to the delight of neutrals and the frustration of the United faithful...

"

being dominated by Burnley at OT good times

— usama (@Youngology) February 11, 2015"

"

Burnley can smell blood

— b. (@_wangwe) February 11, 2015"

Burnley were also attracting attention for their slick silver away kits...

"

@laurencekinlan Feel like I've seen Burnley's kit before pic.twitter.com/1bhA0qrFIl

— Robbie (@RR_Robbie) February 11, 2015"

In the 37th minute, the prayers of most Manchester United fans were answered when Van Gaal remembered who Ander Herrera was and sent him on. Unfortunately, the Spaniard's appearance came at the expense of an injured Daley Blind...

Despite Burnley's dominance, they went into half-time losing 2-1 as Smalling stepped up once again to place another header in the back of the net...

"

It would appear that today I’m Chris Smalling. #MUFC

— God (@TheTweetOfGod) February 11, 2015"

"

Smalling scores 2 goals tonight pic.twitter.com/RsXQBgawSV

— Football Stuff (@FootbalIStuff) February 11, 2015"

"

Chris Smalling has scored twice in the first half... pic.twitter.com/L10FLTIMLn

— Troll Football (@Troll__Football) February 11, 2015"

As the hour mark passed, Smalling remained United's only viable goal threat. Falcao inevitably came under some criticism...

In the 81st minute, however, a player not named Chris finally made a breakthrough for the home side. When Scott Arfield brought Angel Di Maria down with a clumsy challenge, Van Persie stepped up from 12 yards to make it 3-1...

Burnley fan and former political bigwig Alistair Campbell was clearly not happy with the situation...

The match finished 3-1, a scoreline that surely flattered the hosts. The evening, however, surely belonged to Mr. Smalling...

"

Smalling scores 2 goals tonight pic.twitter.com/XmQzM3G5lF

— Just Football (@JustFutball) February 11, 2015"

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