Source: Telegraph
Manchester City 3 Burnley 3: match report
Kevin McDonald's 87th-minute equaliser earned Burnley's first away point of the season as Manchester City's defensive frailties resurfaced once again at Eastlands. [LNB]Mark Hughes's team had gone into this game having won just one of their last six league fixtures, but the run looked set to come to an end when Craig Bellamy's 58th minute goal put City 3-2 ahead after they had trailed 2-0. [LNB] Related ArticlesPremier League tablePremier League actionPremier League fixturesSport on televisionSubstitute McDonald banished City's hopes of victory, though, when he scored from close range three minutes from time after Steven Fletcher had headed David Nugent's cross into his path. [LNB]It was the least that Burnley deserved, however, following an impressive performance. [LNB]City were simply awful in the first-half. The £50m back four was shambolic and Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor up-front failed to even lay a glove on Burnley's unheralded defenders. [LNB]The warning signs were there for City as early as the eighth minute, though, when Robbie Blake was left unmarked to guide Graham Alexander's free-kick inches wide of Shay Given's left-hand post. [LNB]With holding midfielder Nigel de Jong starting on the bench, City lacked bite in midfield and Burnley were left to pass through the home side. [LNB]And they deservedly took the lead on 18 minutes after referee Stuart Attwell had awarded a penalty following a handball by Joleon Lescott. [LNB]Lescott's raised arm cut out a Tyrone Mears cross, so Attwell had no option but to point to the spot. [LNB]And veteran midfielder Alexander maintained his 100 per cent penalty record for Burnley by netting his 13th out of 13 with a powerful strike past Given. [LNB]Scotland international Alexander's strike-rate from the spot is incredible, with his latest penalty taking his career tally to 69 scored from 74 spot-kicks. [LNB]City were reeling and Burnley continued to dominate, with Given producing a stunning save to deny Fletcher on 32 minutes. [LNB]Former Hibernian forward Fletcher beat the Irishman seconds later, though, when he was allowed to stroke home Chris Eagles's cross while unmarked at the far post. [LNB]Shaun Wright-Phillips had a volley correctly ruled out for offside on 38 minutes as City attempted to claw themselves back into the game. [LNB]And after keeper Brian Jensen palmed Bellamy's left-foot strike around the post on 41 minutes, Wright-Phillips threw City a lifeline by scoring with a shot that deflected off former City defender Stephen Jordan. [LNB]Burnley's woeful away record this season that has seen them lose every league game away from Turf Moor suddenly looked set to haunt Owen Coyle's team again. [LNB]City sensed the visitors' nerves and Burnley collapsed in the space of four second-half minutes by conceding twice. [LNB]Kolo Toure dragged City level with a tap-in from six yards after Lescott had squared Gareth Barry's 54th minute free-kick. [LNB]And Bellamy then put the home side ahead when he guided a right-foot curler into the net from Wright-Phillips's cross four minutes later. [LNB]City couldn't hold onto their lead, though, and they were punished when McDonald snatched a point for Burnley at the death. [LNB]
