manchester city hosted Burnley at Etihad Stadium just three days after beating the Italian Serie A leaders, Napoli 2-1 in the Champions League in the same venue. Heading into the fixture, the Citizens were on a ten-game winning streak. Three goals each from Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi, and Leroy Sane were enough to ensure that the hosts reaped the maximum points.
Burnley traveled to Manchester after avoiding defeats in five consecutive Premier League fixtures. A week before the tie, Sean Dyche men had salvaged a point at Turf Moor against West Ham United in a game Chris Wood scored in the eighty-fifth minute to end in 1-1 stalemate.
Rampant Manchester City
The Citizens went into the fixture on top of the league standing but were aware that their neighbors, Manchester United were lurking behind them just with two points. It meant that a loss for Guardiola's side and a victory for Jose Mourinho's side would've seen Manchester United go on top of the log.
The win over the Clarets saw Manchester City win a half of its last ten games in all competitions after scoring at least three goals. Pep Guardiola slightly rotated the team that beat Napoli in midweek dropping Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling to the bench while starting with Aguero, Sane and Bernado Silva in the attack. It was the first start for Sergio Aguero since getting involved in a car crash in Amsterdam less than a month ago.
The Argentine striker didn't disappoint as he put the hosts ahead after a half an hour with a penalty as the Citizen went into the break with a 1-0 lead. After the break, Leroy Sane assisted Nicolas Otamendi in scoring the City's second in the seventy-third minute before the German winger sealed Manchester City's win two minutes later with the third goal.
The result of the match meant that Manchester City had won all the last three meetings with the Clarets in the games that realized a total of three goals each. The game also saw five bookings with the hosts receiving two while the visitors took the remaining three yellow cards of the match. Leroy Sane was booked in the twenty-ninth minute and Burnley defender James Tarkowski also received a yellow card in the same minute.
Citizens are comfortable at the top
The Citizens didn't underestimate their opponents as the Clarets had pulled a shocking 2-3 victory over Chelsea in the opening fixture at Stamford Bridge. The win saw Manchester City go five points clear of their closest challenger. With Manchester United suffering a stunning defeat at the hands of Huddersfield, the Red Devils remained at 20 points while Guardiola's side points increased to twenty-five.
