Aguero gives City the look of champions

Victory comes without their usual sparkle but it is 11 wins in a row for Guardiola as...

DESPITE the final scoreline, this was stuttering rather than scintillating Manchester City — but they passed the test of champions by winning without playing well.

Pep Guardiola’s 11th victory in a row in all competitions was among the hardest earned with a controversial Sergio Aguero penalty putting them ahead after 30 minutes and Burnley manager Sean Dyche accusing Bernardo Silva of excessive gamesmanship.

It was only deep in the second half that City could finally put their visitors away, with goals in quick succession from Nicolas Otamendi and Leroy Sane.

City’s victory left them five points clear at the top of the table and one suspected it gave Guardiola as much satisfaction as the 7-2 demolition of Stoke last Saturday.

Burnley, it should be remembered, have already picked up points at Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool and Everton this season. ‘If people come here and always think we’re going to be 5-0 up in 20 minutes, I can tell them it won’t happen,’ said Guardiola.

‘While the game was still goalless, it was difficult for us but we were stable. We created chances and scored when we had to.

‘We know that Burnley’s physicality is amazing. They are a group with a huge work ethic and it’s always demanding for us mentally and physically a few days after the Champions League.

‘But we defended the first and second balls really well. Maybe last season we struggled in bad moments but we don’t have that feeling now. It was more difficult than last week but we stayed in control.’

City had scored 29 goals in their opening eight league games but Burnley were never going to let it become a case of ‘how many’.

Indeed, the first genuine chance of the game fell to the visitors after 15 minutes following a long clearance by Jack Cork.

Chris Wood beat Kyle Walker to the bouncing ball and took it past Otamendi, before City goalkeeper Ederson came out to smother at Woods’s feet. When the ball slipped from his chest on a wet surface, he then dived again at an on-rushing Scott Arfield hunting for the rebound.

Referee Roger East ruled that Arfield had gone in too strongly on the goalkeeper, leaving an irate Dyche to holler, ‘What’s that?!’ at the fourth official, as Burnley were denied the chance to score.

If the visitors felt aggrieved by that, it was nothing compared to the incident approaching the half-hour mark. David Silva played in Kevin De Bruyne, who was thwarted by an excellent save from Nick Pope but, as the keeper went to ground to challenge Bernardo Silva for the rebound, the Portuguese forward, moving away from goal, fell dramatically.

East pointed to the spot and then had to separate arguing players, with Sane and James Tarkowski both ending up in the book.

Fortunately for Guardiola, Aguero remained cool as he slotted home the penalty for a milestone goal, his 177th for the club, equalling Eric Brook’s record.

There was relief too — the Argentine had missed seven of his previous 21 penalties, including his last against Shakhtar this season, a few days before he was involved in a car accident which left him with damaged ribs.

That Dyche thought the penalty decision was harsh is an understatement.

‘There is contact but it’s so minimal I don’t know how the ref sees it. For him [Bernardo Silva] to get that high up in the air with his arms outstretched is impressive in itself.

‘If I’d kicked my kid in the garden, I don’t think he would fall like that.’

Dyche stopped just short of describing Bernardo Silva as a cheat but said: ‘You can’t fall like that as a 13-stone professional. There has to be honour in the game but that’s out the window because it’s not there.

‘As a former defender, I totally understand gamesmanship but that was stretching it I feel.’

Burnley’s recovery from perceived injustice was impressive. They could have levelled when De Bruyne miscontrolled on the edge of his own area and Arfield’s shot deflected just wide. City showed flashes of quality in patches, with Aguero twice denied by Pope’s legs and Tarkowski blocking a Bernardo Silva shot full in the face. But while the home fans were nervous, Guardiola was delighted to see his players refuse to panic. Their reward came after 73 minutes. After Pope had saved from David Silva, Sane’s corner was met by a leaping header by Otamendi. Two minutes later, De Bruyne produced another worldclass pass for Sane to collect and beat Pope with a low finish. Aguero was then replaced by Gabriel Jesus... record-breaking goal No178 will have to wait.