Manchester City 3-1 Burnley (31 Jan, 2024) Game Analysis،
Julián Álvarez celebrated his 24th birthday with two goals as Manchester City won 3-1 against relegation-threatened Burnley at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to move up to second place in the Premier League table.
It was a joyous ride for the champions as Rodri added a third goal to secure a 13th successive victory over Burnley, during which City scored 46 goals and conceded two. Ameen Al Dakhil provided late consolation for the visitors.
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Pep Guardiola's side moved to 46 points from 21 games, two behind leaders Liverpool, who face Chelsea later on Wednesday. Burnley are second and seven points from safety having played a game more than Luton Town in 17th.
City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne made his first start for City since the opening day of the season and striker Erling Haaland came off the bench for the final 20 minutes after missing the previous 10 games due to injury. injury.
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It was freezing cold in Manchester, but an evening to warm Guardiola's heart after a routine victory, players successfully returning from injury and a celebration of his former City captain Vincent Kompany, now Burnley manager, before kick off.
But there would be little feeling once the game started. It took City 16 minutes to attempt an attempt on target, but they opened the scoring.
Matheus Nunes broke down the right flank and his cross from the touchline provided a simple headed opportunity for Álvarez to score and the Argentine doubled his tally six minutes later.
De Bruyne played the striker in with a smart low pass from a free kick to surprise the visitors and Álvarez produced a cool finish.
It took City 25 seconds in the second half to extend the lead to 3-0.
De Bruyne spotted Phil Foden on the right wing and his pass to Rodri on the edge of the box allowed the Spaniard to drill the ball low into the bottom corner.
Burnley had a rare chance through Zeki Amdouni, but he fired wildly over the crossbar with only keeper Éderson to beat.
They got a scrappy consolation in the 93rd minute, however, as Al Dakhil forced the ball over the line after a low cross from debutant David Datro Fofana into the penalty area.
