TAKING PEP’S City chief throws down gauntlet CHALLENGE
To side over perfect run-in
MANCHESTER CITY manager Pep Guardiola last night challenged the champions to win all eight of their remaining games – or to prepare themselves to hand over the Premier League title.
Guardiola, whose side barely broke sweat in dispatching relegation-threatened 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 yesterday with the champions routinely back into their stride after the international break. While they will play better this season – Guardiola blamed the length of the grass at Turf Moor for slowing down their football – they did what they needed to against a 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 and their perfect record as pacesetters never looked likely to change yesterday.
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 towards goal to De Bruyne and the Belgian finished in style.
City doubled their lead in the 24th minute after a slick build-up 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 and into the net with
Burnley keeper Nick Pope wrong-footed.
With Ben Mee injured and
Nathan Collins suspended, Long was making his first appearance of the season in the Burnley defence. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end.
The home crowd were anaesthetised 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 then Gundogan and then
saw substitute Gabriel Jesus fizz a shot just over his bar after Sterling and De Bruyne had combined potently again down the right.
Jesus struck a post in the 80th minute from a cross by fellow sub Bernardo Silva but the scoreline stubbornly remained 2-0.
Burnley have more significant fish to fry in the coming days with games against Everton and Norwich.
“We park it now because we have got ten important games left and all ten are not against Man City,” said
Burnley manager Sean Dyche.their concern must be that they have now failed to score in eight of their 14 home games – the lowest strike rate in the division.