Manchester City 5-0 Burnley – Manchester City youngster Phil Foden steals the show in a fantastic display as City ease to victory against mid table side Burnley at the Etihad Stadium.
First half:
The game started as many would have expected with the visitors Burnley sitting deep and trying to soak up the pressure from Manchester City and the visitors were successful until the 22nd minute when Bernardo Silva found Phil Foden who unleashed a wonderful low shot from outside the box which beat goalkeeper Nick Pope and put City a goal up.
Manchester City took over the game from this moment on and were hardly giving visitors Burnley a touch of the ball as Manchester City dominance was rewarded with a second goal in the 43rd minute when Fernandinho played a fine ball out to winger Riyad Mahrez who took on Burnley left back Charlie Taylor and finished very well with his right foot to give Man City a 2-0 lead.
After the second goal went in it seemed to be a question of how many Manchester City would score on the day and just before half time they were awarded a penalty thanks to VAR when Ben Mee’s challenge on Sergio Aguero was checked by VAR and then awarded as a penalty kick. Riyad Mahrez stepped up with a chance to make it 3-0 before half time and despite Nick Pope going the right way, Mahrez converted and Manchester City lead 3-0 before the break, however in the only bit of bad news for Manchester City to take from this game main striker Sergio Aguero was subbed off with an injury for Gabriel Jesus just before the break.
Second half:
Just 6 minutes in to the second half and Manchester City went on to score yet another goal when a wonderful disguised pass by Phil Foden found Bernardo Silva who then crossed for David Silva who scored from inside the six yard box to put Manchester City 4-0 up with a wonderfully worked goal in what was turning out to be a fine Manchester City display.
Manchester City were not finished there as star of the show Phil Foden scored his first ever Premier League brace when Gabriel Jesus miss hit a shot which fortunately fell right in to the path of the Manchester City youngster who put the ball in at the near post to make it a convincing 5-0 to a rampant Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City just comfortably saw the game out from this moment on in what was a very good performance from City and particularly young Phil Foden; could he be a potential replacement for David Silva when he leaves at the end of the season?
Man of the match:
Phil Foden – One of the easiest choices of the season for a man of the match award with the 20 year old Manchester City youngster running the show at the Etihad as well as doubling his Premier League goals tally in just a single match. Is it time for Foden to start playing regularly and realising his full potential in a Manchester City shirt?
Fascinating facts:
Manchester City have now defeated Burnley 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium for the third consecutive time in all competitions.
This was the first time Phil Foden has scored against a team in the Premier League outside of North London with his only other two goals coming against Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
This was the first time that Sergio Aguero has failed to score in a home match that he has appeared in against Burnley in all competitions scoring in his previous 5 appearances against them at the Etihad Stadium.
This was David Silva’s first Premier League goal of 2020.
Burnley have now conceded 20 goals in just 6 Premier League visits to the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City have now kept 3 consecutive Premier League clean sheets at the Etihad Stadium which is their best run this season.
This was Burnley’s first Premier League defeat in seven matches since losing to Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on January 11th.
Talking points:
Phil Foden shows why he could replace David Silva – Phil Foden put in a mouth-watering display against Burnley bagging two goals and this performance shows people just how talented the 20 year old really is and why he can potentially replace Manchester City legend David Silva at the end of the season.
Manchester City make easy work of Burnley at the Etihad again – Manchester City simply love it when they host Burnley, since Pep Guardiola took charge of Manchester City they have played Burnley 6 times at the Etihad Stadium in all competitions winning by an aggregate score of 24-2.
Sean Dyche missing both main strikers didn’t help Burnley as the Clarets make a miserable return to Premier League football after lockdown – Burnley arrived at the Etihad Stadium without main strikers Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes both injured and this was only the second time that both of the main strikers haven’t appeared in a Premier League game all season and Burnley never looked like posing a threat to Manchester City in their absence as Burnley have a shocking restart post lockdown.
Manchester City makes sure Liverpool cannot win the League on Wednesday night against Crystal Palace – If Manchester City slipped up at all against Burnley then Liverpool would have had the chance to win the title with a victory over Crystal Palace at Anfield Wednesday night however, with Manchester City’s convincing win this can now not happen and if results go as planned then Liverpool might well have a chance to win the Premier League title on the 2nd of July at the Etihad Stadium.
Sam’s match reports 