Angel Di Maria Shines in Flattering Manchester United Win over Burnley

Manchester United emerged with a 3-1 victory over Burnley at Old Trafford tonight, thanks to a large slice of good fortune and the efforts of a number of individuals, in particular Angel Di Maria.

Whilst Chris Smalling may have scored a perfect 10 from statistics website WhoScored.com, it was Di Maria who supplied the spark which made the difference for United.

Success from set pieces was the order of the day for the Red Devils, whose goals came from two corners and a penalty. Di Maria was not involved in the first corner, but the second came from a beautiful cross after a well-worked short-corner routine with Wayne Rooney.

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It was nice to see United using the short-corner option, as set-piece delivery has been a consistent problem for a side that has been reduced to using Phil Jones to take corners.

The third goal was of Di Maria's making too, as he won the penalty that Robin van Persie so ably converted. It was a typical driving, purposeful and tricky run which drew the foul from a tired Burnley defender. The Argentinian was full of energy, making six dribbles, which tied Adnan Januzaj's total for most in the game.

Although only two of Di Maria's 10 crosses were registered as successful, a good number of the "unsuccessful" crosses involved delivery into dangerous areas. It was clear from early in the game that his form was better than it had been in recent weeks, as he whipped a ball in from the left flank within the first 10 minutes, nearly creating a good chance.

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He did make an error which enabled Kieran Trippier to gain possession for Burnley's equaliser—although Smalling's marking of Danny Ings in the box left much to be desired—but otherwise Di Maria's contributions were almost universally positive. This was particularly significant during the last 20 minutes of the game, once Burnley had tired.

Other United players who emerged from the game with credit included Paddy McNair, whose stinging shot led to the corner from which Smalling opened the scoring.

David de Gea once again saved United's blushes, with important saves when the score stood at 1-1 of particular significance.

It is hard not to attribute some of the result to luck, though. There were blessings in disguise, as injuries forced Louis van Gaal's hand with substitutions. For his first, Smalling replaced the injured Phil Jones, who appeared to have twisted his ankle. Smalling scored almost immediately, and of course, added a second later in the game.

For the second substitution, Daley Blind appeared to suffer ill effects from a clash of heads, and was replaced with Ander Herrera. His arrival was greeted with a cheer from the Old Trafford faithful almost as loud as that which greeted the goals.

It was clear why the crowd, and fans across social media, had been crying out for Herrera. He added a good deal of balance to United's midfield, and was instrumental in supplying Di Maria late in the game. United were much better in the latter stages of the game, and Herrera was surely part of the reason why.

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The form of many of United's key players continues to be a concern, but Van Gaal's men have reclaimed third place in the league after yet another home win. There has been enough quality so far to drag the underperforming side through games.

This time, Di Maria was the key man. His colleagues will get their chance to make a difference in future games.

However, the hope is that Van Gaal can find a way to improve the overall level of performance so the side can become less reliant on good fortune and moments of individual brilliance. It is time for the "lucky general" to become a more effective general if United are to sustain or improve their current standing.

All statistics per WhoScored.com