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Pep Guardiola admitted that some of the joy was missing after Manchester City beat Burnley 5-0 in an empty Etihad Stadium.
Riyad Mahrez scored a hat-trick as City took advantage of a visit from one of their favorite boys to rediscover their scoring touch in the Premier League.
It was City’s fourth straight 5-0 win over the Clarets at home.
However, with little respite on the calendar in a condensed season and with fans unable to attend, city boss Guardiola felt something was missing.
“The problem today in games is that players lose the joy of playing football,” the Spaniard told the BBC.
“Before it was nice to play soccer, once or twice a week with the spectators. Now it’s like … in three days there’s another one.”
Guardiola, however, allayed fears that record scorer Sergio Agüero may have suffered a setback in his recovery from a knee injury.
The Argentine underwent surgery in the summer and his return to action has already been complicated by a hamstring injury.
He was not involved against Burnley, but Guardiola is hopeful the latest issue is not serious.
Guardiola said in his post-match press conference: “Sometimes it’s just a knee reaction. With Sergio, that’s how he wakes up. He does good training, but then he has knee pain.”
“We know that the injury he had is not easy for recovery, we have to handle it as well as possible. When he is ready, he will play. Hopefully tomorrow he can train again.”
Guardiola was happy to be back on the winning track in the Premier League after last week’s loss at Tottenham. City had won just three of their first eight games and scored just 10 goals in an uneven start to the campaign.
He said: “It was important to come back with a victory in the Premier League. We played a lot of games, so playing the 90 minutes and maintaining a good level is not easy, but there are always things to improve.
“Of course it helps us. It’s important for us to score goals and keep going.”
Benjamín Mendy scored his first goal for the club and Ferran Torres also scored but it was Mahrez who claimed the ball.
Guardiola said: “It is important that the guys up front score goals. They should score more goals. Then they will have more opportunities to keep playing.
“The most important thing now is that we have almost 21 players in shape. We have tired players who will need to rest, but those who defend well and those who score will play.”
Burnley, by contrast, was weakened by injuries and was vastly outmatched. The game turned out to be a particularly stifled experience for goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell on his Premier League debut.
Manager Sean Dyche said: “It’s peculiar, it’s rare terrain where this has happened on a consistent basis.
“But we have made mistakes and they have capitalized on it. Immediately the game plan is thrown out the window. Here, it is very difficult then. They use the ball very well.”
“I’m not going to start complaining about injuries, but we all know the disparity in the division. They have a huge resource base and they use it well.
“There is no lack of effort or intention. We just make the wrong decisions and play on a higher side. When those higher sides show up, they really punish you.”
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