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Riyad Mahrez scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Burnley 5-0 in their best performance of the season so far.
The winger sent the hosts ahead in the sixth minute thanks to a fluid play that would encapsulate City’s performance against the woeful Burnley, who suffered their fourth consecutive 5-0 defeat at the Etihad.
Mahrez scored his second halfway through a poorly defended throw-in, and Benjamin Mendy intervened with his first Premier League goal shortly before the break with a timed volley from a tight angle.
After the break, Ferran Torres shot from close range before Mahrez completed his hat-trick with a header from a Phil Foden cross.
City’s victory takes them to the top half of the Premier League and back within three points of Chelsea in third place, while Burnley is five points behind Brighton, the next team ahead of them, and still 17.
The city gives Burnley the feeling of deja vu
Pep Guardiola had a full squad to choose from against a Burnley squad buoyed by their first win of the season against Crystal Palace on Monday night, but spring in the Sean Dyche pass didn’t last long.
It took Mahrez just six minutes to catch Kevin De Bruyne’s perfect stride pass before swinging the ball past backup goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell to maintain his scoring streak against the Clarets.
The last time the two sides met, Mahrez scored twice, and midway through the opening period, he had already matched that count for a move that would make Dyche wince. Charlie Taylor completely missed Kyle Walker’s throw-in, allowing Mahrez to cut back and beat Peacock-Farrell from a tight angle.
Ferran Torres scored the quarter of City
That goal was a rarity, being City’s first in the league since a throw-in since April 2016, but, for the most part, the rest of their victory was immensely familiar.
Before the break, Mendy added a third and City returned to their best level of fluidity. Mind you, it was from De Bruyne’s precise shot to find the defender, whose damped volley from the left was perfectly positioned to fit into the far corner.
The game is over, close enough. Burnley achieved a noteworthy moment at the hour mark when Jay Rodriguez’s low effort became his first shot on goal for the Etihad since January 2017, but normal service was soon resumed when Torres rolled into a quarter from shortstop. distance.
Mahrez completed his hat-trick shortly thereafter when Foden overtook him moments after entering as a substitute, with a well-placed header that secured his first match ball in a City jersey.
The hosts thought they were over the count of their last meeting with the Clarets when Peacock-Farrell’s painful day seemed to get worse as his knee turned the ball into his own net after launching into a low cross, but the VAR ruled out the goal for a marginal offside against Gabriel Jesus.
From there, the final 20 minutes were played out as a practice game with City flexing their scoring muscles and Burnley praying for the full-time whistle.
Man of the match – Riyad Mahrez
What more can be said? It’s like a moth to a lightbulb every time Burnley comes to town. Five in two games at the Etihad against Sean Dyche’s men now, and a first hat-trick in the Manchester City colors.
However, that’s not all that Mahrez produced, he also made more key passes than anyone else on the field. A brilliant performance.
What the managers said …
Man City Chief Pep Guardiola: “It was important to come back with a victory in the Premier League. One more game.
“We play a lot of games, so playing 90 minutes and maintaining a good level is not easy, but there are always things to improve.
“It’s important for our people to score goals and it’s an opportunity for them to keep playing.”
On the absence of Sergio Agüero: “Sometimes it’s just a reaction in the knee. It’s swollen. Hopefully tomorrow I can go back to training.”
“Now it’s three days and then another. We have to travel and fully prepare.”
Burnley Manager Sean Dyche: “You can’t start a game with a game plan and then throw it out the window with an error this early against them. Here, it’s really difficult then. They use the ball so well and there’s movement everywhere, so it becomes A tough afternoon, which was.
“We played into their hands. We played a short pass that wasn’t necessary. We wanted to put it on top of them, but we didn’t. When they show up, you’re probably not going to win a game, but I expected more from this group.”
Opt for facts
- Manchester City have won their last seven meetings with Burnley in all competitions by a 28-1 aggregate score.
- Burnley have lost seven of their last 10 Premier League matches (G1 D2), after losing just one of the previous 15 (G8 D6).
- Manchester City are only the second team in Football League history to win four consecutive home games by more than 5 goals against a single opponent in all competitions, after Notts County v Port Vale between October 1893 and February 1893. 1907.
- Burnley has suffered six league losses this season, losing more than his first nine games of a season in the top flight only once before, in 1888-89 (seven).
- Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez has scored seven goals in his last four Premier League appearances against Burnley, scoring more goals against the Clarets (8) in competition than against any other team.
- Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez has recorded 102 Premier League goals (61 goals, 41 assists), the sixth African player to reach triple figures (Drogba 159, Adebayor 133, Yakubu 121, Mané 118, Salah 113).
Whats Next?
Manchester City face a Champions League trip to Porto on Tuesday night; start at 8:00 p.m. Then they will host Fulham next Saturday; start at 3:00 p.m.
Burnley will return to action next Saturday, hosting Everton at Turf Moor; start at 12.30 pm.
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