City’s killer instinct pleases Pep
MANCHESTER, England — Pep Guardiola hailed Manchester City’s ruthless streak after it overcame Burnley 3-0 on Saturday for a club recordequalling 11th straight win that moved it five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Sergio Aguero made his own piece of history, matching the club’s all-time scoring record of 177 goals through a first-half penalty.
City then wrapped up the victory with two goals in the final 20 minutes, from Nicolas Otamendi and Leroy Sane.
The leader’s day got even better as second-placed Manchester United crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield Town.
City’s title chances were ruined by seven home draws last season, but it has dropped only two points so far this term, when it was held 1-1 by Everton in August.
City boss Guardiola is of the view that his players are more confident holding onto a narrow lead these days.
Scoreboard
Against Stoke last weekend, City won 7-2 after the visitor had briefly threatened to recover from an early threegoal deficit, while against Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday, City scored two early goals and then held on for a 2-1 win as the Italians fought back.
“Against Stoke, when it was 3-2, the team stayed stable. After Napoli got back to 2-1, it was the same,” Guardiola said.
“Today it was a little bit more difficult, but we didn’t concede chances, and maybe last season, if it had been 1-0, and we had to play the second half with that score, we would have become more nervous and less controlled.
“Maybe now in those moments, we don’t have that feeling. But football is up and down. Even with the confidence that they have, the players know we can lose immediately.
“That’s why it’s so important that every single day, every single minute, every single game, we try to do what we have to do.
“When we do the right things, then our confidence increases and we can continue winning games, and that is so important for us.”
Aguero was playing for the first time since breaking a rib in a taxi crash in Amsterdam on Sept 28, and grew in confidence as the match went on.
Guardiola indicated that the striker may get the chance to set a new club goalscoring record against Championship leader Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup on Tuesday.
“When you are out for three weeks, it takes a while to get the rhythm back,” Guardiola said. “He needs minutes. He played today and may play on Tuesday. That’s important.
“Today, he equalled the record, and as soon as possible, he is going to break it. That will be something special.”
The award of the penalty from which Aguero scored caused considerable controversy, with Burnley players accusing City’s Bernardo Silva of exaggerating contact with Nick Pope to win the spot-kick.
“It’s a penalty. The goalkeeper touched Bernardo with his right foot,” Guardiola said.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche bitterly disagreed.
“There’s minimal contact. I don’t know how the referee saw it, because it was that instant,” Dyche said.
“To get that high off the floor with your arms above your head is almost a skill in itself.
“I was quite impressed by how far he (Aguero) traveled. If I kicked my kid in the garden, I don’t think he’d fall like that.
“There has to be a bit of honor in the game, where you go: ‘OK, he’s caught me, but that’s not enough’.”