CITY SUPREME
Leaders stroll to their 13th straight win
BURNLEY 0 MANCHESTER CITY 2
FEW places hold much fear for Manchester City at present but they have certainly made Turf Moor their own ‘happy place’.
So what better fixture to warm up for a clash with Liverpool on Sunday than a canter against their favourite opposition?
Just two goals this time, from Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, provided their usual three points against Sean Dyche’s men, their 12th win in the sides’ past 13 meetings.
More importantly it gave City a 13th straight win in all competitions – the first team to do that since Arsenal in 2002 – and a firm grip on the top of the table.
Three points clear with a game in hand City, who have conceded just four goals in their past 20 games, could not be heading to Anfield in better shape.
They blazed out of the traps and were ahead inside three minutes.
Raheem Sterling started the move on the left flank, slipping the ball inside to Bernardo Silva who gathered on the turn and fired a shot towards goal.
Nick Pope managed to block the effort but succeeded only in parrying the ball to Gabriel Jesus, right, who nodded gratefully into an empty net from six yards out, his 75th goal for the club.
Pope made amends keeping out shots from Riyad Mahrez and Joao Cancelo but the England goalkeeper was beaten again in the 38th minute.
City cut Burnley open with another neat move, Mahrez sliding a ball to Ilkay Gundogan, who centred for Sterling to hammer home. It is worth remembering that City remain without their best player in Kevin De Bruyne and leading scorer in Sergio Aguero but they have hardly skipped a beat. And in Gundogan they have a player at the peak of his power who is filling in nicely for both absentees.
The Germany international produced the pass of the match to Sterling, charging in from the left flank, but the striker saw his shot blocked by Pope’s outstretched boot.
Burnley’s chances were few and far between. Matej Vydra fired a shot over on the half-volley after cushioning a long ball from Matt Lowton on his chest. And that was about it.
Mahrez had the ball in the net just shy of the hour mark, turning in Jesus’s cross, only to be ruled offside, by a fraction.
And Jesus had a shout for a penalty turned down when tangling with James Tarkowski 10 minutes later.
This was about as comfortable as it gets. Liverpool will be tougher on Sunday but it will be the home side who have more to fear. BURNLEY (4-4-2): Pope 6; Lowton 5, Tarkowski 6, Mee 6, Pieters 5; Gudmundsson 5, Westwood 6 (Benson 81), Cork 6 (Stephens 70 5), McNeil 5; Rodriguez 5 (Mumbongo 77), Vydra 5. MAN CITY (3-1-3-3): Ederson 5; Stones 7, Dias 7, Laporte 7; Rodri 6; Cancelo 7 (Zinchenko 64 6), Bernardo 6, Gundogan 8; Mahrez 6, Jesus 6, Sterling 6. Goals: Jesus 3, Sterling 38.