Martial made the breakthrough to break a deadlock which left those watching dumbstruck with the negativity of Jose Mourinho’s men. 

But the Red die-hards won’t be bothered after making the trip to snow-clad Burnley. 

That’s another three points, 14 clean sheets for keeper David de Gea and an eightgame unbeaten league run to keep neighbours City honest. 

United emerged through the mist in grey shirts to match their opening performance. 

Dull, drab and totally unconvincing against a Burnley side hell-bent on getting right into their faces.

Lack-lustre seemed to be the name of the game for Mourinho’s men with no sense of purpose in attempting to break down the Burnley rearguard in early stages of mediocrity.

You prayed they would take their woolly gloves off and take the fight to the Turf Moor marauders.

Instead, it was Burnley who held the early initiative and James Tarkowski spelled danger in the opening minutes. 

Johann Berg Gudmundsson flighted in the perfect free-kick for the defender, who directed his header wide of the target in front of worried travelling supporters. 

We waited for 13 long minutes before United clicked into first gear with Ashley Young delivering a clever ball into the box for Paul Pogba to steer just over. 

Three minutes from the interval, United woke up again when Young tricked his way through the Burnley back line and curled his shot just wide of the upright. 

And on the stroke of half-time Martial’s neat foot work took him into the danger zone but he, too, missed the target. 

No wonder Mourinho had a face like thunder as he trooped across the pitch, heading for a showdown in the dressing room at half time. 

Whatever Mourinho muttered it did the trick with United ahead nine minutes after the restart after Romelu Lukaku at last showed he was up for the battle. 

Lukaku muscled his way through three Burnley men and brilliantly picked out Martial who hammered in off the underside of the bar. 

Gudmundsson thought he had equalised three minutes later when his brilliantly executed free-kick spun off the woodwork and away instead of nestling in the net. 

And the Icelandic star’s header clattered into Chris Smalling with the Claret side of Turf Moor screaming at referee Mike Dean to award a penalty for handball.

Burnley were soon back down their throats with anxious times all around for the men in grey. 

The camera then caught former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson checking his mobile phone in the stand, no doubt wondering about “Fergie time” as Burnley thundered back into the game. 

Tarkowski was inches away from sliding in a Gudmundsson cross to show the home side weren’t dead and buried. 

Pogba tried to ensure they were with a continued series of darting runs and nifty footwork which lifted him head and shoulders above all his team-mates on a grey old day – apart from the result.