Burnley 0-2 Manchester United

Anthony Martial scored his eighth goal of the season for Manchester United

Wayne Rooney scored his first goal since January as Manchester United kept up the chase for the top four in the Premier League with victory at Burnley.

Rooney's second league start of the year was one of eight changes made by United manager Jose Mourinho after Thursday's Europa League win over Anderlecht.

The England captain started the impressive counter-attack which led to Anthony Martial's opener, and squeezed the ball home from a tight angle to double United's lead before half-time.

Andre Gray had Burnley's best chance of the first half when his shot was blocked by defender Eric Bailly, but Sean Dyche's side failed to register a shot on target.

It means United remain fifth in the league but are only a point off rivals Manchester City, whom they face on Thursday at Etihad Stadium.

Burnley have now won only once in 11 matches and are five points off the relegation zone in 16th.

The goal which cost Man United £8.5m

After season-ending injuries to striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and defender Marcos Rojo, Mourinho was forced to shuffle his pack again.

And, with one eye on the Manchester derby, he left Thursday's hero Marcus Rashford on the bench.

Martial returned to the attack alongside Rooney and Jesse Lingard and played a part in both first-half goals.

The Frenchman sprinted forward after being sent on his way by Rooney, and after a delicate lay-off from Ander Herrera, Martial swept the ball past Tom Heaton in the Burnley goal.

It was Martial's 25th goal for the club and a clause in his contract, which he signed last year, means United will now have to pay an extra £8.5m to his former team Monaco.

Rooney makes it 251

Rooney became Manchester United's all-time record goalscorer in January against Stoke but has been made to wait three months for goal number 251.

He completed a full 90 minutes of league action for the first time since September and enjoyed a productive partnership with Martial.

Having played a part in United's opener, Rooney scuffed home the second goal of the match from a few yards out after Martial's shot was well blocked by Heaton.

It crept over the line, and goal-line technology confirmed it was legitimate, although it may have taken a slight deflection off the leg of Burnley defender Michael Keane.

All filler and no killer from Burnley

Burnley have a home record to be proud of this season, with 32 of their 36 points won at Turf Moor.

But they are still without an away win, and that has contributed to their now precarious league position.

The Clarets certainly started the better side against United, but lacked finesse in the final third.

Other than Gray's effort in the first half, their most productive spell came in the final 10 minutes when Keane headed across goal from a free-kick and substitute Daniel Agyei placed his right-footed snap-shot past the post.

Man United's unbeaten run continues

• Man Utd are unbeaten in their last 23 Premier League games (W13 D10). It is the longest unbeaten run by a Premier League team within a single season since 2010-11, when they went 24 games without losing.

• Burnley failed to land a shot on target in a Premier League home game for only the second time in their history.

• Only Alan Shearer (190) has scored in more different Premier League games than Wayne Rooney (149 - level with Frank Lampard and Andy Cole).

• Anthony Martial has both scored and assisted in a Premier League away game for the first time in his career.

• Ander Herrera has provided six assists in the Premier League this term, as many as in his previous two campaigns combined.

Man of the match - Anthony Martial (Manchester United)

On his 50th Premier League game for Manchester United, Anthony Martial scored the first, set up the second and looked impressive alongside Wayne Rooney

Manager reaction

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho: "I'm very happy. It's not easy to win here and it's even harder to be in control and we were in control for 90 minutes.

"We understood the way they play and we played against their strengths. I think it was a great result that we deserved."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche: "They are very strong, tactically, technically and with game knowledge. We huffed and puffed and stuck at it. They scored two poor goals from our point of view, we have to make a foul on the first one.

"I am pleased with the mentality of the second half. They killed the game. That is the reality of playing some of the top sides. You can't always get above where you are."

What's next?

Burnley travel to Crystal Palace in the late kick-off next Saturday (17:30 BST) while Manchester United make the cross-city trip to Manchester City on Thursday (20:00 BST)