Vincent Kompany makes Oli McBurnie claim following Sheffield United striker's dismissal against Burnley

The striker somehow managed to avoid a straight red during the first-half of Burnley’s emphatic 5-0 win despite clearly elbowing Dara O’Shea in the face.

McBurnie was, however, eventually shown his marching orders after being shown a second yellow in first-half stoppage time, again for a swipe of the arm on O’Shea.

Kompany was left clearly incensed by the first incident, remonstrating forcefully on the touchline and receiving a yellow from the referee as a result.

“It was right in front of me, so this time I can’t say I needed the VAR,” he said. “If that was allowed in my time, I would have been an even better defender!

“I have nothing against the lad, it’s a competitive game. Fair play, he puts his body on the line in every game. He’s a tremendous force for their team.

“But just in that moment I had a feeling I got booked and Dara O’Shea got booked and in that moment that didn’t feel right.”

Burnley were able to keep their heads when the Blades appeared to be losing theirs, committing niggly fouls all over the park.

Including the two bookings for McBurnie, the visitors ended the game with eight yellow cards.

Asked about the maturity of his players, Kompany added: “I don’t take it for granted with the amount of pressure there was on the game to turn up and perform.

“By any experience in your career, it’s a difficult thing to do and if anything, I hope it’s in the bank now in terms of knowing you can perform in such a moment.

“I keep saying though, I’m working with an awesome group of players. All I’m doing as a coach, every single weekend, is hoping they can translate that hard work into results.

“Obviously this is one of those days but hopefully there are many more.”