Erik ten Hag thinks Manchester United are unlucky but they are making their own luck

Erik ten Hag has used this week to complain about the bad luck Manchester United have had this season, from an injury crisis that has rarely abated to perceived refereeing injustices that the Dutchman is starting to see in every game.

You can't quibble with the fact that United's injury record has made life difficult for Ten Hag this season, but his playing style is introducing the factor of luck into matches and when it is so prevalent against the 19th-best team in the Premier League then you have to consider a change.

United's midfield has been a source of encouragement for the opposition since the autumn, taking an approach so committed to attack and getting numbers forward that they are regularly exposed when going the other way. As is so often the case in United games the opposition racked up the shots, enjoying that no man's land between a deep defence and an attack pressing high.

United player ratings vs Burnley

United vs Burnley as it happened

United only spent a few days in Las Vegas in pre-season but they have played with the addiction of a compulsive gambler all season. They can't resist the adrenaline buzz of a helter-skelter contest in which the outcome is often in doubt until the very final kick, but it's not putting the odds in their favour. Their games are becoming crapshoots, where luck plays too big a role.

While the best teams - see Manchester City and Arsenal - dominate games by pinning the opposition back and playing the game in their half, or even around their penalty area, United are turning every fixture into an entertaining and open encounter. It offers too much encouragement to opposition even at the level of Burnley.

Staff in the Clarets camp had this week pointed to two