United opened the scoring through Scott McTominay's early strike, with Cristiano Ronaldo claiming the assist, following good work by Mason Greenwood.

The lead was doubled when Jadon Sancho took up Luke Shaw's invitation to drive into the box and thought he had his maiden goal at Old Trafford, only for the Premier League to rule it as an own-goal by Ben Mee.

Ronaldo got in on the act by stabbing in the rebound after Wayne Hennessey tipped a McTominay drive onto the woodwork, although Aaron Lennon soon reduced the arrears.

The second half was a more sedate affair, although McTominay again brought the best out of Hennessey, making his Premier League debut for the Clarets, with another raking drive.

Eric Bailly was withdrawn with a knock but the United backline was rarely troubled, although James Tarkowski had a couple of late headed chances, as Ralf Rangnick's Reds secured three very welcome points to end the year on a positive note.

There were plenty of contenders for the Man-of-the-Match accolade but, in truth, McTominay ran away with the award, logging an astounding 83 per cent of the vote, the second-highest figure of the season behind Ronaldo after his second debut in the victory over Newcastle United at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo and Sancho were joint-second, a long way behind the Scotland international midfielder.

It is the first time Scott has landed the star-man plaudits this term, with his last success in this field coming in the Europa League final against Villarreal at the end of last season.

David De Gea had scooped the previous two prizes for his excellent performances against Norwich City and Newcastle.