IMPRESSIVE CITY DISMANTLES BURNLEY
Manager Pep Guardiola praised his Manchester
City side for their "beautiful, beautiful goals" as
they remained top of the Premier League with a
convincing win over Burnley.
Sparkling finishes from Bernardo Silva,
Fernandinho and Riyad Mahrez, in particular,
caught the eye as City maintained their 100%
home record this season.
"After we scored the second goal and third
quickly it was much easier," Guardiola said.
"The finish from Bernardo was not easy. The
goals were so outstanding - beautiful, beautiful
goals - and the chances we created, and it's
three more points."
Manchester City 5-0 Burnley: Pep Guardiola joy
at 'beautiful, beautiful goals'
Guardiola's side were briefly knocked off the
summit by Chelsea's draw with Manchester
United earlier on Saturday, but opened up a two-
point lead before Liverpool moved level on points
with a 1-0 win at Huddersfield in the late kick-
off.
City's procession towards the three points was
initially held up by Clarets keeper Joe Hart,
making his first return to Etihad Stadium after
ending his 12-year stay in the summer.
Hart, a huge crowd favourite during his spell at
the club, made superb first-half stops to deny
Sergio Aguero and David Silva, but was
powerless to stop Aguero firing home as the duo
combined to round off a neat passing move.
Hart's afternoon was to get a lot worse.
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Burnley barely threatened before half-time but
their hopes were only truly extinguished when
City added two more goals in two minutes shortly
before the hour mark.
There was some controversy about City's second
goal, which came after Leroy Sane went down in
the area under a challenge by Jack Cork.
Referee Jon Moss waved play on but the Burnley
defence stopped, allowing Silva to retrieve the
ball before it ran out of play and cross for Silva
to sweep home.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche and his players
continued to protest as the game resumed,
although it was unclear whether they felt the
game had been stopped, or that the ball had
gone behind before Silva reached it.
It clearly played on the Clarets' minds, however,
and their usual defensive organisation was
nowhere to be seen when, seconds later, a
corner was cleared as far as Fernandinho on the
edge of the area and he found a sublime finish.
From that point, the game was over as a
contest, although the City fans still had more
reasons to celebrate, firstly when a fit-again
Kevin de Bruyne appeared off the bench for his
first appearance since the opening weekend of
the season.
There were more goals to come as Fernandinho
teed up Riyad Mahrez to curl home a superb
fourth goal late on, and Sane converted a
Benjamin Mendy cross.
Hart makes unhappy return
Hart, 31, had to contend with Cardiff fans
chanting "England's number four" at him during
Burnley's last away game, but got a much
warmer reception on his return to his former
home.
Even Guardiola, who loaned him out for two
seasons before selling him last summer, wrote
some affectionate words about the England
international in his programme notes.
Hart, who won every major domestic honour
during his time at City, was given a standing
ovation by the home fans before the game, but
the occasion will not be remembered for his fine
saves to keep out Aguero's acrobatic volley or
Silva's close-range header.
Hart would have been hoping for a clean sheet
that became his trademark during his time at
City - he managed 82 on home turf alone.
Instead, on his 180th appearance here, and his
first as an opposition player, he conceded five
goals at Etihad Stadium for the first time.
"There is a feeling of frustration in my chest
right now," Hart said. "The crowd reaction was
nice but I came here as a Burnley player. It was
far from a perfect day."
However, there was little he could do about any
of the goals, with Burnley's usually solid defence
looking particularly brittle in the second half, and
collapsing completely by the end.
Dyche lists Burnley grievances
Burnley did not manage a single shot on target
and Dyche accepted his side were well beaten,
but felt big decisions went against them at "key
moments" of the game.
That started in the very first minute, when
Vincent Kompany's reckless challenge on
Burnley winger Aaron Lennon saw the City
captain booked.
Manchester City 5-0 Burnley: Kompany challenge
was a red card - Dyche
Dyche said: "Kompany is out of control and he
does not know where the man is, or the ball. It
is just a throw of the leg and it is high - Aaron
has got a cut with two stitches in it, high in his
thigh.
"It is not vicious or anything but there is no
control in the challenge and we are told that is a
big thing in challenges like that, so in the
modern game that is a red card."
While Dyche felt his players were at fault for
switching off for City's second goal, he was
adamant it should not have stood, with Hart also
saying the assistant referee apologised to him
later.
Dyche said: "Sane goes down with the tiniest of
touches and the referee is going to blow his
whistle, but then decides not to and waves it
away.
"In the meantime a player who is off the pitch
has walked back on the pitch to go and get the
ball that is off the pitch to deliver a cross that
they then score from. If that is not confusing for
everyone in the stadium, it is certainly confusing
for me.
"I thought it at the time, and I have seen it back
since. With the best view that we can get of it,
the ball is out of play, so you can forget about
everything else."
Dyche also felt Sane should have been sent off
late on for a challenge on Matt Lowton.
"With Sane right at the end, it has got to be a
red card," Dyche added. "He kicked Matt for no
reason at all, just smashing him around his legs.
It has got to be a red card, as simple as that."
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