Burnley 1-4 Manchester City: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Guardiola's Men Turn on the Style

03 December 2019 22:34

A rampant Manchester City returned to winning ways as they stormed to a 4-1 win at Burnley in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

The away side started brightly at Turf Moor and had the ball in the back of the net after just six minutes, but Gabriel Jesus' neat finish was ruled out for a clear offside. However, the Brazilian did give his side the lead after 24 minutes, curling home beautifully from the corner of the 18 yard box.

The Cityzens continued to impose themselves on the match and could have added to their one-goal lead in the first-half, but Nick Pope produced a number of fine saves. However, Pep Guardiola's men increased their advantage five minutes into the second half as Jesus produced another wonderful finish to make it 2-0.

City made it three with 68 minutes on the clock, Rodri rifling in a stunning strike from the edge of the area. Riyad Mahrez put the icing on the cake with a late strike, but Robbie Brady was able to pull one back for the hosts in the final minute.

Here's the breakdown of the game.

BURNLEY

Key Talking Point

After back-to-back 3-0 wins against West Ham and Watford, Burnley fell to a 2-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace at the weekend. Despite this, Sean Dyche will have been keen to see his side impose themselves on a fragile looking Manchester City.

However, the Clarets struggled to really get into the City half let alone create any notable opportunities in the opening 45 minutes. There appeared to be a lack of intensity, with the ball continuing to come back at them. Pope made a number of stops in the first half to ensure it was only 1-0 going into the break.

Dwight McNeil

The hosts continued to struggle in the second period and failed to influence the game in any real way. Overall, it was a resounding defeat and it was a hugely disappointing performance from Dyche's men.

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Player Ratings


Starting XI: Pope (7*); Bardsley (5), Tarkowski (5), Mee (5), Pieters (4); Lennon (3), Cork (4), Drinkwater (3), McNeil (6); Hendrick (5), Wood (5)


Substitutes: Barnes (5), Rodriguez (5), Brady (6)

STAR PLAYER - It's not often a goalkeeper concedes four goals...and yet he somehow comes away with the standout performer award, but that is the case here. Nick Pope may have put in a shaky performance at the weekend, but he was impressive against the champions.

Despite City creating a number of clear opportunities in the first period, they were only able to go in at half-time with a 1-0 advantage - and this was largely down to the work of the Englishman. There was simply nothing he could do about any of the away side's goals. But it was his saves that limited the damage to only four, when in truth, it could actually have been worse.

MANCHESTER CITY

Key Talking Point

Saturday's dramatic draw with Newcastle meant the Cityzens had only won once in their previous five matches in all competitions. They also came into the clash with Burnley a whopping 11 points behind their title rivals Liverpool after just 14 games. As a result, in no uncertain terms, a win was needed.

Pep Guardiola

Guardiola's men came flying out of the traps and were completely dominant in the first-half, creating a number of clear goalscoring opportunities for themselves. On another day, it could very easily have been two, three or four nil in the opening 45. 

Nonetheless, they quickly doubled their lead in the second half and the result never looked in doubt. It was an assured and highly impressive performance from the team and it will certainly be a morale-boosting result heading into the Manchester derby.

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Player Ratings


Starting XI: Ederson (6); Walker (6), Otamendi (5), Fernandinho (6), Angelino (6); Rodri (9*), Silva (7), De Bruyne (8); Bernardo (7), Sterling (7), Jesus (8)

Substitues: Mahrez (7), Foden (5), E Garcia (N/A)

STAR PLAYER - Manchester City looked composed and confident in possession and that was largely down to the influence of Rodri. He was simply exceptional. 

Constantly sniffing out any danger, he would intercept any pass with consummate ease before thinking positively and playing a delightful forward pass to get his side on the front foot. His assured display at the base of the midfield allowed the likes of Kevin de Bruyne to flourish further up the field.

His individual performance was capped off with an outrageous thunderbolt of a strike from the edge of the area to seal the points. A brilliant all-round display. 


Looking Ahead 

Burnley next face a trip to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the league on Saturday before hosting Newcastle the following weekend.

City, meanwhile, have the Manchester derby next up, as they welcome United to the Etihad Stadium. They then face Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Source: 90min