Gabriel Jesus gets Manchester City back on track with a 4-1 win at Burnley
Manchester City moved to within eight points of Liverpool via the relentless, percussive passing play that signifies Pep Guardiola’s side at their best.
His team had stuttered recently and arrived at Turf Moor to find a darkened changing room but this was a performance of light and brightness that warned Jürgen Klopp’s men they will not give up their title easily. Next up is Saturday’s derby with Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side may curse at how City are appearing to relocate their mojo.
After Saturday’s draw at Newcastle this was a victory decorated by stellar performances throughout Guardiola’s team, Rodri, Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne particularly supreme.
Of Jesus, who scored two differing kinds of goals, Guardiola said: “I am so glad for him because he is an incredible fighter. That is what I want, for him to try to be aggressive in this position. The important thing is the mentality, there’s never doubt in the quality. He is so important and he make two exceptional, brilliant goals.”
In a bright start Kyle Walker flicked a cross in that David Silva barely missed but when the right-back fluffed a touch a free-kick was conceded. Suddenly
Chris Wood was barging Nicolás Otamendi over in City’s area and though they recovered this was a warning of Burnley’s muscle.
It was, however, City who controlled both the ball and the tempo. There was a flow to Kevin De Bruyne and the way he swept through from a central position and shot with his left foot was as majestic as the cross he sent over from the right moments later.
Yet the Belgian did allow Jack Cork to pickpocket him during a passage in which Burnley – momentarily – flipped gears and pinned City back. Wood was keeping Otamendi honest by shoving him around and it is in these moments that Guardiola’s men miss the injured Aymeric Laporte. Yet their ability to keep probing is admirable and Raheem
Sterling, Angeliño, Jesus, Walker and both David and Bernardo Silva were Burnley’s lead tormentors.
In the 24th minute City opened the scoring and it was sweetly simple. De Bruyne found Sterling, who moved the ball on to David Silva and he toed it to Jesus along the left. The Brazilian stepped in and planted a curler past Nick Pope to the goalkeeper’s left for a first goal since mid-October.
At Newcastle, City were twice ahead but were pegged back each time within six minutes. This time they nearly doubled their lead when De Bruyne fired in a low cross that Sterling might have finished from close range, Guardiola rocking on his heels with disappointment. The manager was delighted with his team, though. What he witnessed was his players carrying out the plan perfectly, the ball pinballing in and around a Burnley who were in damagelimitation mode for most of the contest.
There was a blur of black shirts as City advanced towards their opponents and had them scrabbling. Walker had some to do himself when diving to clear and giving away a corner – something Guardiola had mentioned City did not do here last season – but no equaliser followed.
What did ensue was the whistle for the interval and the champions walked off satisfied despite a scare when Dwight McNeil’s shot was blocked; Bernardo Silva then forced a save from Pope at the other end.
City had won only one of their previous five in all competitions and that was last month’s hardly emphatic 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Required in the second half, then, was the pattern being continued though experience suggested Burnley would try to disrupt them more. The way Rodri, De Bruyne and Sterling pressed suggested they knew the home side had to be stifled, as they had been before the interval.
City soon did the trick. Jesus came close after Walker drilled a ball into Burnley’s area, and from the subsequent move, his second arrived. Bernardo Silva directed a cross expertly and there was the Brazilian to volley home.
It had Guardiola celebrating and
City cruising – the mood in which they often wreak havoc – and there was no sign Burnley had any answer. City’s movement and command of the ball meant they operated in a different sphere and made their recent dip in form seem all the stranger.
Burnley tried the odd foray but never looked like troubling City. Instead, it was Rodri who added a memorable third. More carousel passing involving De Bruyne, David Silva and Angeliño presaged the ball bouncing invitingly to the Spaniard. He skipped forward and whacked it home from 20 yards. Mahrez made the margin emphatic with a late fourth, before Robbie Brady’s even later consolation.
On this form City may be back at their peak and now hope Everton can do them a favour in the Merseyside derby.