GOTTA BE GR-EIGHT
Perfect run-in only way to stop Kop warns Guardiola
MANCHESTER CITY boss Pep Guardiola challenged the champions to win all eight of their remaining games – or prepare themselves to hand over the Premier League title.
Guardiola, whose side barely broke sweat against relegationthreatened Burnley yesterday, believes one slip will prove fatal with Liverpool breathing down their necks.
“Every game we have to win. It’s as simple as that. Hopefully Liverpool are going to lose against us but apart from that they’re not going to drop points,” said Guardiola.
“We have to handle the pressure. We did in the past when we won 14 games in a row. We have to win eight games otherwise we will not be champions.”
It was caviar against crisp sandwiches with City routinely back into their stride after the international break. While they will play better in this campaign – Guardiola blamed the length of the grass for slowing down their football – they did what they needed to against game but limited Burnley.
Temporarily losing top spot to Liverpool, their opponents in next Sunday’s mega-match at The Etihad, failed to faze City.
The ‘as it stands’ table was back in their favour inside five minutes with Kevin de Bruyne’s opener and by full-time the real thing was dutifully rectified.
When City take the lead, they win. That has been the case all season in the league.
The opener was all too easy with Burnley’s defence allowing City the freedom of Turf Moor to work their intricate angles. Rodri picked out Raheem Sterling on the right, he cushioned a volley back against goal to De Bruyne and the Belgian finished in style.
City doubled their lead in the 25th minute after a slick buildup down the right involving Sterling and De Bruyne which teed up Ilkay Gundogan 15 yards out and the City captain volleyed through Kevin Long’s legs past wrongfooted keeper Nick Pope.
With Ben Mee injured and Nathan Collins suspended, Long was making his first appearance of the season. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end.
The home fans were subdued by City’s dominance and much of the rest of the half, made up of patient passing patterns from the visitors, was played out in funereal silence.
Burnley, prompted by the tireless Josh Brownhill, were more competitive after the break but it was still largely one-way traffic.
Pope was twice called upon at the start of the second half to deny Phil Foden and Gundogan and then saw Gabriel Jesus fizz a shot just over after Sterling
and De Bruyne had combined down the right. Jesus also hit a post in the 80th minute from a cross by fellow sub Bernardo Silva.
In a sense this was a free hit for Burnley – this win made it 10 on the trot for City against them with an aggregate score of 34-1.
Burnley have more significant fish to fry in the coming days with games against Everton and Norwich and boss Sean Dyche said: “We park it now because we have got 10 important games left and all 10 are not against Man City.”
Their concern must be that aside from Brownhill’s early header which went just wide and a 75th-minute drive by sub Jay Rodriguez which forced a save from Ederson, they created very little.
They have now failed to score in eight of their 14 home games – the lowest strike rate in the division – and need to find some goals from somewhere.