Manchester City bounced back in style after last weekend’s frustrating1-1 draw with Arsenal, thrashing Burnley 5-1 at the Etihad to extend their dominance over the Clarets to 14 consecutive victories in all competitions. Pep Guardiola’s men looked sharper and more clincal, putting behind them the disappointment of dropping points in a title defining clash, Softfootball reports
Burnley, renowned for their defensive grit, started with belief and even forced City into some early struggles in the final third. But it was only a matter of time before the champions found a breakthrough. Fifteen minutes in, Jérémy Doku’s strike forced Martin Dúbravka into a parry, and Maxime Estève could only bundle the rebound into his own net.
The visitors responded bravely, and their persistence paid off just before the break. Pressing high, Burnley forced a mistake, and Quilindschy Hartman’s delivery was met by Jaidon Anthony, who swept home his fourth goal of the season. That equaliser had Guardiola fuming on the sidelines, and when Haaland squandered a chance moments later, City went into half-time with the scores level at 1-1, hardly what they needed after slipping up against Arsenal.
The Clarets came out firing in the second half too, nearly taking a shock lead when Lyle Foster’s deflected shot skimmed wide, before Hartman stung Gianluigi Donnarumma’s gloves. But those missed chances came back to haunt them. Just past the hour, Matheus Nunes reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box and smashed City back into the lead.
From there, the floodgates opened. Estève had a nightmare afternoon, diverting Nunes’ cross into his own net for a second own goal, before Haaland came alive late on with two sharp finishes to kill off any hopes of a Burnley fightback.
After the match, City’s official X handle, highlighted Haaland’s brace posting a post match reaction of the player after the game, The victory means City have now won 23 of their last 25 Premier League games against promoted sides, underlining their ruthless consistency, watch video below;
Burnley, meanwhile, left Manchester empty-handed despite giving City a real scare for long spells , another case of missed chances and costly lapses against the very best.Burnley now have just one win in seven games, the only victory coming against sunderland at the Turf Moore earlier in the season.
