RUTHLESS CITY KEEP RAISING THE BAR
After this Burnley blitz, the champions are on course to smash goal record
MANCHESTER CITY do not need any help to destroy most teams. But when their opponents and the match officials both switch off, they are utterly ruthless.
There is an argument that Pep Guardiola’s all-stars are even better than last season. Five different players scored against Burnley and they are now on course to break last year’s Premier League goals record.
At the other end, a miserly defence have conceded only three goals in nine games. Guardiola was even praising the ground staff after another emphatic win.
‘Thanks to the greenkeepers for keeping the grass in perfect condition that helps us to play quicker,’ he said.
And yet Burnley will point to one of the strangest goals of the season, City’s second after 54 minutes, that spoiled their afternoon, and that of goalkeeper Joe Hart back at his former club.
Burnley had manfully restricted the scoreline to 1-0 when Jack Cork challenged Leroy Sane in the box and the German winger went down.
Everyone stopped playing as referee Jonathan Moss assessed the situation, with Burnley protesting it was a dive. Except Mr Moss did not award a penalty and David Silva raced to the byline to pull the ball back for Bernardo Silva to fire home.
Two minutes later, Fernandinho had added a third goal and City were home and dry and relaxed enough to send on Kevin De Bruyne as a substitute for his first action since August. Burnley were guilty of not playing to the whistle for Bernardo’s goal but they were also adamant the ball had crossed the line before David Silva fed him.
‘Sane goes down with the tiniest of touches,’ said Burnley manager Sean Dyche. ‘The ref is going to blow his whistle and then doesn’t. Then a player off the pitch goes on to the pitch and kicks the ball from off the pitch.
‘If that is not confusing for everyone in the stadium, it is certainly confusing for me. I thought it at the time and I’ve seen it back since. The best view we can get of it is the ball is out of play.’
Hart, who played 348 games for City, implied that the officials accepted they had got it wrong. ‘The linesman apologised for switching off – but that’s huge. It is hard to take.’ Even so, Burnley players ignored the first rule of football taught from a young age. ‘I told my players to play through the moment and then remonstrate afterwards,’ said Dyche.
Whether the odd second goal will have changed the final outcome is doubtful. Guardiola is building a fortress at the Etihad. His side have won every home Premier League game this season and 17 of 19 their last campaign. Most impressive is that the goals are being shared around. ‘That’s important, less pressure on Sergio,’ said Guardiola. It was Aguero, though, who opened the scoring after 17 minutes.
The Argentine had already been brilliantly denied by Hart when he converted David Silva’s fizzed low cross from eight yards for his 16th goal at the Etihad from his last 12 Premier League games.
He was then able to take a back seat as his team-mates helped themselves, though he will have been disappointed to fire wide after Hart’s brilliant parry to stop David Silva’s header fell to him four yards from goal. Instead, Bernardo belted No 2 as Burnley hesitated and, in City’s next attack, Fernandinho scored from the edge of the box after Ben Mee had half-cleared Sane’s corner.
It was game over and Guardiola was able to bring off Aguero and the two Silvas with Tuesday’s Champions League game away to Shakhtar Donetsk in mind.
There was no let up for Burnley though. City’s £60million record signing Riyad Mahrez curled number four into the top corner and Sane completed the rout by sidefooting Benjamin Mendy’s cross in injury-time. Dyche, who was thoroughly fed up by that stage, thought Sane should not have even been on the pitch by that stage for a hack at Matt Lowton.
‘Unacceptable in everyone’s view,’ said the Burnley manager. ‘It has to be a red card. He kicked Matt for no reason at all, just smashing him around his legs.’
He also thought City defender Vincent Kompany was fortunate to escape with a yellow card for a challenge on Aaron Lennon in the opening minute. ‘Out of control,’ he said.
Guardiola refused to be drawn into a war of words over the comments. He is simply content to see his work over three years at City reach new heights, both defensively and offensively. They are top of the table again, unbeaten so far in the league.
‘We didn’t concede again, one shot on target for them and that is a good point from our side,’ he said. ‘All the players made a good performance, especially John Stones, playing in a position that is not natural for him [right-back].
‘In my experience, it can take a little bit of time to settle in the first game after the international break but, in the second half, we were solid in our build-up and Kevin helped us make another step, another rhythm. Everyone was at a high level.’
An hour after the final whistle, Hart was back on the Etihad pitch he graced 348 times for City, for a nostalgic look around the ground and a little kickabout with his young son.
He had a training pitch named in his honour by City last week. He now knows first-hand his old team are getting stronger and stronger.