Burnley 0-2 Manchester City: Player ratings as Citizens earn 13th consecutive victory
By Max Parsons
Manchester City recorded a 2-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday evening to move three points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola's side didn't take long to find the opener as a Bernardo Silva effort was parried straight into the path of Gabriel Jesus, who was able to nod into an empty net on three minutes.
City had most of the ball throughout the first half and eventually made their possession count once more just before the 40 minute mark. A flowing move down the left resulted in an Ilkay Gundogan pull back being tapped in by Raheem Sterling, taking his side into the break with a 2-0 advantage.
The visitors continued to dominate possession and should have been 3-0 up as Sterling missed a one-on-one five minutes after the restart. City continued to create and were unlucky not to make it three once again as Riyad Mahrez had a goal disallowed for offside around the hour mark, leaving the scores at 2-0.
Now, let's get to the player ratings.
Burnley player ratings
1. Goalkeeper & Defenders
Nick Pope (GK) - 6/10 - Uncharacteristic error for the opener and looked a little nervy after that, but regained his composure after the interval, making several stops.
Matthew Lowton (RB) - 5/10 - Had a torrid time keeping Sterling quiet and just couldn't handle him at times. Looked absolutely exhausted in the final minutes.
James Tarkowski (CB) - 5/10 - Made an interception and two clearances but, as you'd expect, struggled against such a potent attack.
Ben Mee (CB) - 6/10 - Did well on a couple of occasions to cover his colleagues at the back and bail them out but, like his partner, was beaten by the quick movement of City players.
Erik Pieters (LB) - 5/10 - Actually did well to contain Mahrez as much as he did, but the full-back did so little going forward that he was hardly noticeable.
2. Midfielders
Johann Berg Gudmundsson (RM) - 5/10 - The Iceland international looked flat in possession, but did well to stifle Aymeric Laporte when he looked to move the ball forwards.
Jack Cork (CM) - 5/10 - Broke up a couple of City attacks, making two tackles but was largely overrun and failed to keep the ball when he had it, achieving a pass accuracy of just 65%.
Ashley Westwood (CM) - 6/10 - Tried his best to put balls in behind but couldn't find the strikers enough.
Dwight McNeil (LM) - 6/10 - Was a bright performer for Burnley, showing tenacity in his pressing and a willingness to drive forward with two forceful dribbles in the first 45. However, was kept quiet after the break.
3. Forwards
Matej Vydra (ST) - 6/10 - Made some promising runs in behind and looked like an option the midfield just failed to exploit. Had more service in the second half and looked bright but couldn't capitalise.
Jay Rodriguez (ST) - 3/10 - Couldn't replicate the impact Chris Wood or Ashley Barnes would have as Burnley clearly lacked a focal point, having only 21 touches of the ball.
4. Substitutes
Dale Stephens (CM) - 5/10
Joel Mumbongo (ST) - N/A
Josh Benson (CM) - N/A
Manchester City player ratings
5. Goalkeeper & Defenders
Ederson (GK) - 6/10 - Had very little to do as a goalkeeper, but was so calm and efficient with the ball at his feet. Made a poor challenge miles out of his goal that he got booked for.
Joao Cancelo (RB) - 7/10 - Solid defensively and once again fascinatingly played as a central midfielder when his side had the ball which allowed City to dominate. Proved to be a creative force once more when he stepped out of defence with a 95% pass accuracy.
John Stones (CB) - 8/10 - A good defensive shift against Burnley counter attacks, and always got his head up to pass the ball progressively with a 96% pass accuracy.
Ruben Dias (CB) - 8/10 - Continues to dominate, winning the ball three times and helping the side to another clean sheet.
Aymeric Laporte (LB) - 6/10 - Had a good game defensively, but couldn't influence going forward as much as he would've liked to.
6. Midfielders
Rodri (DM) - 8/10 - Proved a perfect screen in front of the back four - or three at times - as he plugged any gaps and stopped counter attacks with four tackles.
Bernardo Silva (CM) - 7/10 - Found pockets of space with ease and was crucial in the first goal, forcing the original save out of Pope.
Ilkay Gundogan (CM) - 9/10 - Outstanding. Was hard to pick up for the Burnley defence, and got into positions where he made four key passes and registered an assist for Sterling just before half time.
7. Forwards
Riyad Mahrez (RW) - 7/10 - Looked ridiculously sharp on the ball. Was influential in the build up to the second and was unlucky to be called just offside as he poked home what would have been 3-0.
Gabriel Jesus (ST) - 6/10 - Managed to score in consecutive games with a simple tap in in the early stages, and was fairly quiet after that. But, he scored, so who cares.
Raheem Sterling (LW) - 8/10 - A menace throughout, moving in off the left to influence proceedings. Got a goal to take him into double figures for the season, but should have made it two with a one on one on 50 minutes.
8. Substitutes
Oleksander Zinchenko (LB) - 6/10