The Manchester City achieved its eleventh consecutive victory in all competitions by beating Burnley at home with more efficiency than brilliance (3-0) and distanced itself at the top of the Premier League.
Nothing seems to stop Pep Guardiola's team, which sweeps away any opponent that gets in its way. Last Tuesday, in the Champions League, it was Napoli, the leader of Serie A, that bowed down (2-1), but before that there were many other victims: Stoke (7-2), Chelsea (0-1), Shakhtar (2-0), Crystal Palace (5-0), West Brom (1-2), Watford (0-6), Feyenoord (0-4), Liverpool (5-0).
This Saturday, at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola's team, which made two changes in the lineup, saw Agüero, fully recovered from a broken rib, come in for Gabriel Jesus, while Sterling made way for Bernardo Silva. It took until the 30th minute for them to open the scoring with a controversial penalty converted by 'Kun' Agüero.
With that goal, the Argentine forward equaled the historic English forward Eric Brook in the ranking of top scorers in the history of Manchester City, with 177 goals each.
In the second half, under the incessant rain falling on Manchester, the Blues doubled their lead thanks to a header from another Argentine, Nico Otamendi, assisted by Sané (m.73).
Sané himself was in charge of sealing the rout just two minutes later, after receiving a good ball from Kevin De Bruyne, who was excellent once again, and beating goalkeeper Pope in the one-on-one.
This victory, together with Manchester United's surprising defeat at the home of newly promoted Huddersfield Town (2-1), leaves Guardiola's team even more in charge of the Premier League.
Manchester City vs Burnley | minute by minute
Manchester City vs Burnley | lineups
- Manchester City: Ederson Moraes, Otamendi, Walker, Stones, David Silva, Fernandinho, Deplh, De Bruyne, Sané, Bernardo Silva, and Agüero.
- Burnley: Pope, Ward, Lowton, Mee, Tarkoski, Defour, Arfield, Cork, Brady, Hendrick, and Wood.
Manchester City vs Burnley | preview
Manchester City, the leader of the Premier League, hopes to maintain its current good form and secure another victory, this time at the expense of the modest Burnley, to keep it at the top of the table for another week, while Chelsea hopes to overcome its 'mini-crisis' against its neighbors from Watford.
Pep Guardiola's men, unbeatable in the domestic championship (22 points out of 24 possible) and in the Champions League (9 out of 9), come into the match against the Clarets after thrashing Stoke (7-2) and defeating Napoli (2-1), riding high after 10 consecutive wins.
In their last three matches, the Spanish coach has not made any changes to the lineup, but it is expected that he will rotate on Saturday after a busy week. Sergio Agüero, fully recovered from his broken rib, could return to the starting lineup after being a substitute and not getting any minutes against Stoke and Napoli. The only known absences for Manchester City are the injured Vincent Kompany and Benjamin Mendy.
On the other hand, the surprising Burnley, who against all odds achieved victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (2-3) and against Everton at Goodison Park (0-1), and managed to secure draws away from home against Tottenham (1-1) and Liverpool (1-1), arrives at the Etihad Stadium without its starting goalkeeper, the injured Tom Heaton, and the injured Irish forward Jonathan Walters.
Up front, Sam Vokes, Johan Berg Gudmundsson, and Chris Wood are competing for a spot, although everything indicates that 'kiwi' forward Wood will remain in the lineup after scoring three goals in the last six matches.