Gary Neville singled out Lisandro Martinez for not doing enough prevent Burnley’s equaliser last night.

After Manchester United took the lead for the first time via Benjamin Sesko’s 60th-minute goal, Burnley restarted play with all-guns-blazing, seemingly confident they could take at least something from the encounter.

Burnley claim crucial point in relegation battle after hosting United(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

They were right in thinking so, too, as United’s one-goal advantage lasted only six minutes before Jaidon Anthony fired home a scintillating effort from just inside the area to make it 2-2 with half an hour to play.

While Senne Lammens could do very little to prevent the goal, Neville reckons Martinez didn’t do anywhere near enough.

“I’m not really sure what Lisandro Martinez is doing. It’s awful defending,” the former Red said on Sky Sports’ live coverage. “But take nothing away from Anthony. He concentrates and he hits it well, and it’s past Lammens in a shot.”

Martinez was donning the captain’s armband for the final 30 minutes at Turf Moor following Bruno Fernandes’ withdrawal after an hour of action, which undoubtedly benefitted the Clarets as United navigated the closing stages without their most influential creator.

Why United simply had to secure win vs Clarets(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

When Stuart Atwell blew his whistle for full-time, it confirmed that the Reds had dropped points to teams ranked 16th or below in the table for the third successive match, previously doing so against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United.

As a result, United squandered yet another opportunity to move into the top four; they’d have gone above Liverpool on goal difference before Arne Slot’s men take on Arsenal this evening.

On Sunday, United kick off their FA Cup campaign at home to Brighton and Hove Albion, which could mark Darren Fletcher’s second and final game in charge as interim manager.

Then, Manchester City take to Old Trafford for the second derby instalment of 2025/2026 before United travel to face the league-leading Gunners on January 25.