Table of Contents
10 out of 10
Manchester City maintained its 100% record this year with a 2-0 over Burnley.
First-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling were more than enough for the Sky Blues to win their tenth match in all competitions this year.
Match Story
It was a typical Man City performance with lots of possession tiring out another team with they’re passing.
They got the breakthrough in the third minute.
Raheem Sterling fed Bernardo Silva for a 20-yard strike.
Nick Pope made the save, but he spilt it out on a silver platter for Gabriel Jesus who tapped in the rebound.
From there the Clarets were chasing the game always a step or two behind the far superior Sky Blues.
City got a second in the 38th minute.
Riyad Mahrez put a fantastic reverse pass to Ilkay Gundogan down the right.
The German placed a perfect pass inside the Burnley six-yard box to a wide-open Raheem Sterling for the tap-in.
City was on cruise control in the second-half as Ederson, as usual, was never bothered with the Sky Blues putting on an excellent training session.
A couple good saves early on in half number two by Nick Pope off Sterling and Mahrez did little except keep the score respectable.
In the end another comfortable victory for Pep Guardiola’s team who are making it look easy.
Man of the Match
Ilkay Gundogan is in the form of his life and is taking the bull by the horns.
The Kevin De Bruyne injury has shone the spotlight on him, and the German is taking full advantage.
His passing tonight was incisive, he was comfortable in possession and put a laser-like pass to Sterling for the second goal.
Like a fine wine, Gundogan’s only getting better with age.
Another master class performance by the man who was the first player Guardiola signed when he took over.
Gundogan’s now scored or assisted eight goals in his last 10 Premier League games.
That’s as many as he had in his previous 61 EPL appearance combined.
Passive Approach
A day after their arch-rivals Manchester United clobbered Southampton 9-0 City showed mercy to their enemy tonight.
While the Reds blew away their competition with goals, City did it with passes.
The Sky Blues strung together 802 passes according to the statistics clicking at an accuracy of 91%.
Burnley could only string together 268 passes in the 90 minutes as they ran around all game long.
With a 2-0 lead heading into the second half, City took it easy on the Clarets appearing more interested in fine-tuning their technical game.
Cleanliness
They say cleanliness is next to godliness.
City’s defence is playing like Greek gods against mortals tying the club record with six successive clean sheets in the league.
They’ve now got 21 this season in all competitions.
The backline is making mincemeat of their attackers allowing no shots on target and just two shots total tonight.
It’s the second consecutive game Burnley have failed to register a shot on target.
In three games against the Clarets, this season City has won by an aggregate score of 10-0.
Breathing Room
The win for City moves them three points clear of Man United atop the Premier League table with a game in hand.
The defeat does little for Sean Dyche’s side who still hold an eight-point cushion on Fulham in the race to stay in the top-flight.
Winning Record
Man City equalled a winning run with today’s victory that’s remained intact for nearly 20 years.
They’ve won 13 in a row in all competitions, the longest winning run by a Premier League side since Arsenal won that many between March and August 2002.
Incredibly in the last 46 days, City’s won nine Premier League matches which is more than nine top-flight teams have won all season.
Managers Words
City boss Pep Guardiola says his team took their foot off the gas after that early goal.
“We were lucky to score early, and after the first half, we struggled a bit to break the lines.
“The second half was much better. The start of the second half was the best, and in the last 15-20 minutes, we just passed the ball with no intention to attack to save energy.
“Everyone knows how tough Burnley is away. In general, we are satisfied, ” says Guardiola.
Next Up
City can stretch their win streak to 14 on Sunday when they face Liverpool.
The kickoff from Anfield is at 4:30 pm. (JSL).
