Burnley 0 Man City 3
Two teams met at Turf Moor who both won their respective leagues last season. Vincent Kompany knew the size of the task his side faced, as they squared up against his old employers. Many of the home faithful who arrived here today were dreaming of an unlikely upset but realised it was a tall order against arguably, the best team in the world. Good teams find a way to silence the home crowd on their travels and Man City did just this…….after just four minutes.
City took a short corner and worked it back to De Bruyne out wide, he swung in a pinpoint cross onto the head of Rodri at the back post, who headed it back across the box into the path of Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker has the hunger to be first to the ball and stroked it home with his left foot. It left the Burnley crowd quietly stunned. The goal seemed to have a strange effect on the home side as they suddenly tried to find another gear to get back into this game.
Their pressing was good for the entire game, they gave Man City no time on the ball, knowing they would try and play the ball out of defence. It is a risky tactic to press a team like City, if they play through you, it can all go pear-shaped very quickly. Burnley caused Pep Guardiola’s side issues with the press and there were glimpses of chances for the hosts but the loose ball never broke their way. When Kevin De Bruyne limped off early in the game, it seemed like the tide may turn as this was a massive boost for Vincent Kompany’s team.
Lyle Foster cut in from the left onto his right foot, he kept his head down, knowing he was going to try and bend one into the far corner. Ederson was at full stretch, but the ball dropped wide of the goal. Immediately after, Akanji played a pass to Rico Lewis who was under pressure and was hassled off the ball. It broke to Zeki Amdouni who ran towards goal but only a last-ditch challenge from Rodri, getting a toe to the ball, stopped him from giving Ederson troubles in the Man City goal. The Clarets were starting to cause the visitors to make errors at the back as they continued to try and play the ball out from the keeper.
Credit: @premierleague
Kyle Walker made a run down the right wing, Lyle Foster failed to track him and he managed to find Julian Alvarez in the box. The Argentine fed it to Erling Haaland who hit it first time, rifling the ball into the back of the net off the underside of the bar. No chance for James Trafford. Just as Burnley thought they were getting some joy with the press, Man City go and land a sucker-punch. The new rules for timewasting this season led to an additional five minutes at the end of the first half, but the scoreline remained the same as they went in at the break.
Ever the perfectionist, as the players trudged off at the interval, Pep Guardiola was telling Erling Haaland what he was not happy with as they headed towards the tunnel. The cameras were following the incident until the Man City manager moved the camera saying, ‘go away!’ Burnley continued with their man-marking strategy in the second half, which at times left them one on one with City players which was getting them into trouble occasionally. Kompany had his side playing the same way as their opponents and they do play some good football, the key difference here was the calibre of the players employing the tactics. For The Clarets there was a loose pass all too often, which Man City capitalised on.
A set piece was swung in from the touchline and Burnley’s defence failed to deal with it, the second ball dropping to Rodri four yards out, as he smashed it through a wall of players into the back of the net. The new zero tolerance to dissent from the bench continued as Guardiola was shown a yellow card by the referee just prior to the free kick. City’s defence that played today cost more than Burnley have spent on defenders in the club’s history, this is the gulf between the sides. One thing is for sure, games against the top sides will not decide the fate of Vincent Kompany’s side this season and they should not feel too down about the result. One slight negative, as we headed into the six additional minutes at the end of the game, Kyle Walker beat Anass Zaroury for pace and as he ghosted clear he caught him on the back of the calf.
The referee brandished a yellow card until the VAR studio told him to review his decision. The replay showed that Zaroury caught Walker halfway up the calf muscle. While the player was not seriously injured, the referee had no choice but to withdraw his initial yellow card and issue a straight red. It left a sour taste with the home fans and once the final whistle sounded, they cleared the stands like there was a fire drill.
Burnley won the EFL Championship comfortably last season, scoring plenty of goals in the process. If they continue to stick to their ‘brand of football’ under Vincent Kompany, they have a good chance of avoiding relegation. The only concern is where the goals are going to come from, they need to have more of a presence and to create more chances. It is hard to judge anything by this game, after all they were playing Man City, but it will be interesting to see how they fair in their next few games.
Nathan Tella was top scorer last season but the loan player is now back at Southampton, who are looking to bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking themselves. Finding someone to get the goals for The Clarets could be Vincent Kompany’s biggest challenge of the remainder of the transfer window and dictate their fortunes this season. One thing is for sure, they will need more than just the prayers of their Mormon owners.
Credit: @ManCity
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