CITY DELIVER BANG ON TIME
Traffic jam only delays the inevitable for poor Burnley
PEP GUARDIOLA’S Manchester City may remain in the chasing pack for the time being but they served warning last night that they do not intend to rub shoulders there for long.
Just three days after the disappointment of dropping points against Newcastle, the Premier League champions regained their swagger to hammer Burnley.
Led by Gabriel Jesus with two superb strikes, his sixth and seventh of the campaign, and capped with a screamer from Rodri and a fourth from Riyad Mahrez, they were brilliant.
It was a victory that narrowed the gap on Liverpool – at least for 24 hours – to eight and allowed them to move ahead of Leicester on goal difference.
While City managed to salvage a point from their trip to the North-east on Saturday, they had looked vulnerable of late having already dropped 13 points. If some of the inconsistency could be put down to injuries, City had been struggling to tap into last season’s vibe.
Last night the team coach was delayed in heavy traffic, arriving just 75 minutes before kick-off. But they were quickly into their strides.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche, right, appeared content to give City space on the flanks with a tight defensive formation.
But with City looking more fired up and Kevin De Bruyne a driving creative presence, they dominated the first half. City had a goal ruled out after six minutes, Angelino’s firecracker from outside the box backheeled in by a clearly offside Jesus.
But almost constant pressure and fluid passing was rewarded on 24 minutes when Jesus produced a magical finish from the left side of the area. Shifting the ball on to his right foot to wrong-foot Phil Bardsley, Jesus unleashed an unstoppable curler past Nick Pope.
City could have doubled their lead just after the half-hour mark, De Bruyne whipping a pinpoint ball from the right byline that Raheem Sterling met five yards out only for Pope to block with his left leg.
Pope blocked another goalbound effort from Bernardo Silva after a lightning counter through Sterling, Jesus and De Bruyne found its way to the Portuguese.
Burnley’s chances were few and far between, Dwight McNeil having a volley blocked by Chris Wood – the perils of having a big man up front.
City doubled their lead five minutes into a second half and it was Jesus who finished off a move that saw the visitors
camped on the edges of the Burnley box for what seemed like a minute.
The set up came again from De Bruyne picking out Bernardo on the right. His whipped, left-foot cross was hooked in on the volley by the Brazilian.
Jesus could have had a another two minutes later, leaving James Tarkowski toiling but putting his shot on the angle just wide of the far post. But City added a third after 67 minutes and it was a cracker, Rodri capping his best performance in a City shirt with a brilliant hit from long range with the outside of his boot.
Mahrez made it 4-0 in the 86th minute, and for once it was his weaker right foot that did the damage. Robbie Brady pulled one back for Burnley in vain.