Super-Sub Jesse Lingard Scores Manchester United Equaliser to Draw vs. Burnley

Jesse Lingard scored twice to earn Manchester United a 2-2 draw against Burnley at Old Trafford on Boxing Day in the Premier League. He came off the bench at half-time with Burnley leading 2-0, thanks to goals from Ashley Barnes and Steven Defour.

Lingard rescued a point, but United still trail leaders Manchester City by 12 points, with the Citizens able to increase the gap to 15 if they beat Newcastle United on Wednesday.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho handed Premier League starts to left-back Luke Shaw and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while former Reds defender Phil Bardsley was at the back for Burnley, per James Robson of the Manchester Evening News:

The hosts found themselves one down after just three minutes, when a reckless challenge from Marcos Rojo started their first-half downward spiral. The Argentinian centre-back was booked, and Barnes dispatched Johann Berg Gudmundsson's free-kick.

Going behind early may have irked the Old Trafford faithful, but they were positively stunned when Burnley added a second nine minutes before the break. It came from another set-piece, this one taken by Defour, whose free-kick caught the usually reliable David De Gea cold.

As Sky Sports Statto noted, it's not often Spain's No. 1 is beaten from distance:

When the whistle sounded to bring the opening 45 minutes to a close, Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News offered this damning assessment of the home side:

Needing a response, Mourinho hooked both Rojo and Ibrahimovic at the break, with Lingard and the marginaised Henrikh Mkhitaryan replacing them. Meanwhile, holding midfielder Nemanja Matic moved into the heart of defence.

Lingard should have halved the deficit six minutes after the restart, but he missed from barely inches. The versatile attacking midfielder soon made amends, though, finally getting the Red Devils on the board with a backheel two minutes later.

Burnley were rocking, and Barnes was lucky to escape a second yellow card after a clear handball only saw referee Martin Atkinson play advantage, much to Mourinho's displeasure.

Gudmundsson was the next Clarets player in the book after bundling Mkhitaryan to the floor. The clumsy challenge was an illustration of how Burnley were struggling to cope since United had upped the pace of their passing.

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Knowing his side needed a quick outlet, Burnley manager Sean Dyche replaced Defour with target man Sam Vokes, who joined Barnes up top as Burnley prepared to go direct. Barnes soon made way for another tough aerial presence, when Jonathan Walters replaced him eight minutes left.

Burnley couldn't get high enough up the pitch to ease the pressure, and Lingard rewarded United's perseverance when he completed his brace in stoppage time. His half-volley was well-taken, but this will still feel like two points dropped for a side expected to make City's march to the title tougher.