A superb David de Gea save prevented Bardsley equalising with his first Burnley goal.

United then wrapped up a 2-0 win at Turf Moor when top scorer Marcus Rashford scored with virtually the last kick of the game.

But Sean Dyche’s men would almost certainly have earned a point had Bardsley’s fine volley managed to cancel out a first-half opener from Anthony Martial which was handed to the United number-nine by a rare error from Clarets’ left-back Charlie Taylor.

“It was a half-decent hit and de Gea makes a good save,” said Bardsley, whose last Premier League goal came for Sunderland in December, 2013.

“It would have been nice if it had gone in, but it wasn’t to be. I’ll keep plugging away and hopefully I’ll get one for Burnley in the near future.

Bardsley clearance.jpg

“It’s never nice to lose a game but I thought we were in the game for the majority of the second half.

“Players make mistakes. It’s part and parcel of the game. It’s how you react and I thought we reacted well, especially in the second half.

“I thought we were terrific and caused them a lot of problems. We created a number of chances and were unlucky not to come away with something.”

Back-to-back defeats over Christmas have left the Clarets 13^th in the table with 24 points.

That’s nine more than this time last season and only one fewer than Everton in 10^th place.

Looking the other way, Sean Dyche’s men remain a healthy six points clear of the bottom three places where Aston Villa currently occupy the final relegation slot.

Villa visit Turf Moor to kick off the New Year on Wednesday and Bardsley is looking to bounce back in a third game inside a week to end the festive Premier League programme.

“We are trying to do the right things,” he added. “We are miles ahead in the points’ tally to where we were last season and it’s something to build on.

“We’ve got a massive game on Wednesday to look forward to. We’ll recover now and go again.

“This is what this time of year is all about. The games come thick and fast and we have to prepare ourselves properly. It’s a protein shake instead of a pint!”

POS	Team	PL	PTS
15	FOR	5	5
16	BUR	5	4
17	BRE	5	4

POS	Team	PL	PTS
15	FOR	5	5
16	BUR	5	4
17	BRE	5	4

Bardsley: Unlucky Not To Get Something

Premier League table

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