EPL Results: Even Di Maria Cannot Inspire Manchester United as Van Gaal's Men are Held by Burnley

Angel Di Maria left after nearly 70 minutes of non-stop action on his debut, gassed and coming to terms with the unrelenting pace of the English Premier League, while Manchester United, yet again, were left gasping for breath, as they failed to impress over the 90 minutes, with Burnley, rigid, organised and sturdy, holding off the attacking charge of Louis Van Gaal's men to keep the away side at bay and winless for the season.

Even Di Maria could not inspire this insipid Manchester United side, coming off a 4-0 mauling at the hands of MK Dons in the League Cup, to a victory, as the match at Turf Moor, despite plenty of huffing and puffing from the away team, ended goalless.

All eyes were on Di Maria right from the start, with the £60 million man playing in midfield alongside Daren Fletcher, and looking to dictate play. He did that fairly well, considering it was his first ever match in the Premier League, with the ridiculous class and talent never in doubt.

There were plenty of passes being pinged towards Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney via that magical left foot, and a couple nearly created the opener, with Van Persie coming the closest, seeing his shot from nine yards well saved by former Manchester United man Tom Heaton.

Burnley were fairly limited going forward, but did carve out a couple of really good opportunities, and, indeed coming closer than Manchester United to open the scoring. David Jones, another former Manchester United man, could have come back to haunt his former club in just the fourth minute of the game, with the midfielder rattling the crossbar via a wonderful freekick from 22 yards.

Jones would persist in trying to find a way into goal, with another long-ranger, via the left boot again, forcing a decent save from David De Gea, who, in the earlier freekick, was just a bystander.

If United continue to play with three central defenders at the back, it does look like Louis Van Gaal will use Di Maria in midfield, with the possibility of the former Real Madrid man playing in Juan Mata's role also very much a possibility.

But you can understand why Van Gaal chose to play Di Maria deeper in midfield, with the ability to pick out those passes from the deep, as well as make those late runs a valuable asset.

Despite all the class on the field, though, particularly in an attacking sense, Manchester United were still a little disjointed, and Burnley, if they had better potency in attack, could have easily hurt them a lot more.

Having said that, however, United could have gone into halftime in the lead, had referee Chris Foy decided to give a penalty after Ashley Young went down under the challenge of Kieran Trippier. The Burnley right-back did barged into the converted wing-back, and had it not been for Young's reputation for diving – the England man did get a yellow card last weekend for a similar incident – Foy might have pointed to the spot.

Even without the penalty incident, United should have played better again, and that lack of confidence was clearly evident.

Sean Dyche would have seen United's lack of cohesiveness, and would have definitely asked his players to take the game by the scruff of the neck a little more in the second half, but it was United who nearly opened the scoring, with Van Persie, after some good work from Di Maria, seeing his shot blocked on the line.

Di Maria's debut ended in the 70^th minute, and the British record signing left to a standing ovation from the away fans. With their star signing gone, United looked to ensure Di Maria would remember his debut fondly, throwing the kitchen sink, and a few more kitchen appliances, at Burnley in the final 20 minutes, but Burnley held firm.

There was another penalty shot for the away side, with Young's shot from distance striking namesake Ashley Barnes on the arm, but Foy was unmoved, and United's hopes of picking up their first win of the season unfulfilled.