While the outcome might not have been exactly what Darren Fletcher hoped for, Manchester United’s 2-2 draw against Burnley showcased enough promising elements to give the interim manager something to smile about.

Could this performance be enough for Fletcher to stay on as interim coach until the season’s end? The odds are slim. With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick leading the pack as favorites for the position, Fletcher was always a long shot for the permanent role.

Fletcher is set to lead the team in the upcoming FA Cup third-round clash against Brighton at Old Trafford before he steps aside for the next appointed manager.

In an analysis of Fletcher’s debut match, Daily Mail Sport examines what Manchester United did right and where they fell short.

If it wasn’t quite the result Darren Fletcher would have wanted, there were enough positives in Manchester United’s performance in a 2-2 draw at Burnley to satisfy the caretaker boss

Benjamin Sesko scored his first brace in a United shirt as Fletcher’s side drew 2-2 at Burnley

Fletch goes four-th

Not one to hesitate, Fletcher quickly abandoned Amorim’s unpopular back-three setup, opting instead for a traditional back-four with a 4-2-3-1 formation. This arrangement, reminiscent of strategies used by former United managers Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag, seemed to bring a sense of familiarity and structure to the team.

It meant Luke Shaw reverting to left-back from central defender, enabling him to get forward and join the attack more, albeit to little effect.

The use of two defensive midfielders in Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte in front of Lisandro Martinez gave United greater solidity in the middle, and allowed Bruno Fernandes to push forward into his favourite No.10 role on the captain’s return from injury.

Fletcher decided to play Patrick Dorgu to the left of Fernandes and Matheus Cunha to the right, a decision which seemed to suit Dorgu but not Cunha who had one of his quietest games for the club.

Fletcher switched Fernandes and Cunha at half-time, and although Fernandes promptly set up Sesko for his first goal – and the impressive Dorgu assisted for the second – Cunha continued to struggle before he was replaced.

United had 30 shots in total which is a promising statistic, and had a goal by Martinez controversially ruled out for a foul on Kyle Walker. They also restricted Burnley to an xG of 0.2. ‘It wasn’t that much for them to actually score two goals, so that’s one way of looking at it,’ said Fletcher. ‘But ultimately they have and we’ve only got a point.’

There was little United could do about Ayden Heaven’s early own-goal, but Fletcher certainly won’t have been happy about the ease with which Jaidon Anthony turned away from Shaw and Martinez before smashing in the equaliser as United’s defensive fragility was exposed again.

‘We attack as a full team and we defend as a full team, so you can’t just level the criticism at the defenders. But as a team we need to improve in defending,’ he added.

Fletcher won’t have been happy about the ease with which Jaidon Anthony turned away from Shaw and Martinez before smashing in the equaliser and exposing United’s defensive fragility

‘I think there is a tactical element when you change, when you’re used to playing a back-four and you changed to a back-five, it is different.’

It emerged that the United hierarchy weren’t happy that opposition managers found Amorim’s line-ups predictable and his teams easy to play against, so it was interesting that Burnley boss Scott Parker had second-guessed Fletcher.

Asked about the 4-2-3-1, Parker said: ‘The general noise around Man United, about what it should be and how they should play and the formation, suggested to me that was the way Darren was going to go, and that’s what he did. We prepped for that.’

Sesko finally on song

Given that Amorim struggled to get a tune out of Sesko after United spent £73.7million in the summer to replace Rasmus Hojlund with the Slovenian, credit to Fletcher for coaxing the striker into scoring two goals.

The caretaker boss revealed that he had taken Sesko aside at Carrington on Tuesday and showed him some videos of his movement and how it could lead to more goal scoring chances.

‘I told him to just keep believing, keep making the runs, said Fletcher. ‘The biggest positive from the night really is his two goals. Hopefully they start flooding in from there.’

Sesko squandered the chance to score a late winner and complete his hat-trick when he aimed a close-range effort straight at Martin Dubravka, and there is still plenty of room for improvement, but this was much better from him.

The caretaker boss revealed that he had taken Sesko aside at Carrington on Tuesday and showed him some videos of his movement and how it could lead to more goal scoring chances

‘It’s been tough but now I finally did it and I’m happy I could help the team, this is the most important for me,’ said the former RB Leipzig man. ‘Now it’s just up to me and up to us to keep going like that.’

Wherever Amorim was watching this game, you could imagine the 40-year-old tearing his hair out at the sight of Sesko finally getting his act together four days too late.

Clean slate for Kobbie?

The end of Amorim’s 14-month reign could mean a fresh start at Old Trafford for the players who seemed destined to leave the club if he had stayed.

The obvious candidate is Kobbie Mainoo whose relationship with Amorim had broken down to such an extent that he was desperate to join Napoli on loan this month having failed to secure a similar move in the summer.

Mainoo was one of four players who returned from injury for the first game since Amorim’s dismissal, with Fernandes, Mason Mount and Harry Maguire also available again.

The England midfielder came on for Casemiro in the 74th minute and made his presence felt. It will be intriguing to see if the change in head coach has changed Mainoo’s mind about his future.

Manuel Ugarte, who has been attracting interest from Turkey and Galatasaray in particular after losing his place for much of this season, put in another strong performance four days after impressing in the draw at Leeds.

Joshua Zirkzee, who also came off the bench, has been heavily linked with Roma this month and it will be interesting to see if his circumstances change.

The end of Amorim’s 14-month reign could mean a fresh start at Old Trafford for the players who seemed destined to leave the club if he had stayed – including 20-year-old Kobbie Mainoo

Another day, another draw

For all the positives from United’s performance, the result was depressingly familiar. It continued a sequence that has seen the club win just one of seven games against teams currently in the bottom six of the Premier League since the start of November.

United have now drawn against Burnley, Leeds, Wolves, West Ham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest. The only win was the 4-1 victory over Wolves in the reverse fixture at Molineux.

It’s worth noting that Burnley have not won for 12 games, losing nine of them. Bournemouth’s late victory over Tottenham on Wednesday night was their first in 12 games. Wolves won for the first time all season at the weekend, and West Ham are on a run of no wins in 10.

Assuming Fletcher hands over the reins after Sunday’s cup clash with Brighton, spare a thought for the new interim coach whose first two games will be against Manchester City and Arsenal.

New boss lets Lacey loose

There was a lot of talk about whether Fletcher would pick his twin teenage sons Jack and Tyler in the squad for his first game in charge. Amorim had included both in recent weeks, and given Jack his debut, so no-one could have accused Fletcher of nepotism if he had kept them in.

Whether to play your sons in Manchester United’s first team is not the kind of dilemma your average dad faces every day. In the end, he named Jack among his substitutes and left Tyler out altogether.

Fletcher, who went for the smart club suit and overcoat ensemble, left his son on the bench and went for victory by sending on another teenager, Shea Lacey, who almost rewarded the decision with a winner when he rattled the bar in the 86th minute.

After two brief appearances, it’s already clear what threat Lacey poses, coming in off the right flank onto his left foot.

‘I told him “stay wide and go and do what you do” and he did that,’ said Fletcher, who knows Lacey well from the academy.

‘I know he’s going to make an impact. He’s exciting, he’s direct, he’s fearless. He’ll be a big part of Manchester United’s future, I’ve no doubt about that.’

Youngster Shea Lacey almost scored the winner when he rattled the bar in the 86th minute

Joy at last for Jaidon

This wasn’t only a night for United’s players to put a difficult season behind them and start afresh. Jaidon Anthony has dipped dramatically since starting the campaign with four goals in six games, struggling for form and fitness.

It has tried the patience of Burnley fans and there was a muted welcome when he replaced former United man Hannibal Mejbri just before the hour mark.

But Anthony sent Turf Moor wild with delight eight minutes later when he beat Senne Lammens with a sensational strike to earn Burnley a point.

It was a moment worthy of making him Burnley’s man of the match, but that honour went to Bashir Humphreys whose run and cross had led to Heaven’s own-goal, and then produced a fantastic clearance from under his own bar to keep out Cunha’s header.

‘I was absolutely delighted for Jaidon, he’s had a tough few weeks,’ said Parker. ‘He was absolutely excellent when he came on. He was sharp, he brought a composure. Sometimes form can dip a bit, but the true quality of someone will always rise.’