FULL TIME: Burnley 1-0 Manchester City
And that’s that! Burnley’s first win against City since 1974! And a repeat of the scoreline in the 1973 Charity Shield! That’s a thoroughly deserved victory for the Lancastrians, on the balance of play, though that penalty non-decision right at the end will understandably rankle with City. Burnley are still in the relegation places, but in touch with the rest of the stragglers now. Hope is alive! But City’s title challenge has been plunged into serious trouble. They’ll be eight points plus a game behind Chelsea if Jose Mourinho’s side beat Southampton tomorrow. Ah well, at least it’ll concentrate the minds for the Barcelona game ...
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90 min +3: Bony attempts to chest down a high hoof into the Burnley area. But he handles. More Burnley relief.
90 min +2: City are beside themselves with frustration. Ings tries to loop home from 40 yards, but the ball flies miles wide right. It’s the striker’s last act; he’s replaced by Reid.
90 min +1: Late drama! Zabaleta cuts inside from the right, dancing into the area. Mee slides in from the side, but doesn’t get the ball. Zabaleta gets a little touch, moving the ball to the left, and then goes over. But it’s not a penalty. Who’d be a referee? I’d say that was a penalty kick, and Burnley are extremely lucky to get away with that rash challenge.
90 min: Ings purchases a cheap free kick off a clumsy Bony in the centre circle. The clock ticks on, and he’s not a penny out of pocket. There will be an extra four minutes of this match. Can City save their title challenge? Can Burnley give themselves a huge boost in their fight against relegation?
89 min: Lampard threads a pass down the inside-right channel, but it’s hit way too hard, and Navas is never getting there. Goal kick.
88 min: This is attack versus defence now, as you’d expect. A ball swung in from the right towards Bony. Shackell steps in, and just about hooks away. The tension at Turf Moor is palpable. This result means so much to both sides.
87 min: The industrious and impressive Vokes, exhausted after returning from injury, makes way for Ward.
86 min: A free kick for City, 35 yards out, in the centre of the park. Not sure why. Lampard asked for it, amid a 50-50 scrape with Arfield, and got it. Anyway, he takes it himself, and blooters it straight into the wall. Another phase of attack, and there’s Lampard taking a fresh-air swipe at a Navas cross from the right. The ball finds its way to Jovetic, 25 yards out. Jovetic’s effort is 25 yards high.
84 min: Navas drifts inside from the right and floats a dangerous ball towards Lampard in the area. Boyd, of all people, gets a defensive head to the ball, though it looks like that’ll lead to a corner, the ball floating out on the right. But Heaton makes a spectacular diving catch to retain possession and deny City the set piece.
82 min: And that’s Toure’s last act of the evening, as he’s replaced by Lampard.
81 min: Toure, on the right, curls the most inviting cross onto the head of Aguero, six yards out, level with the left-hand post. What a cross! And the equaliser surely? Nope. Aguero meets the cross with a powerful header, but it’s miles over the crossbar. City should be level.
79 min: Vokes romps down the right in a little space. If he’d got his dink inside correct, Boyd was bearing down on goal. But Clichy steps in to sort things out before the scoreline turns ugly for City.
77 min: It’s a bit backs-to-the-wall for Burnley right now. They’re sitting too deep. They look much better when they throw a few people forward. And here’s an example, Dimichelis blootering the ball into touch down the Burnley left under a little pressure, and Barnes attempting a curler into the top right from the resulting throw. Hart gathers, but for a second City’s hearts were in their mouths.
76 min: Bony busies himself on the edge of the Burnley box, cutting in from the right having picked up a Jovetic pass. He works enough space to batter a low shot goalwards, but Heaton is behind it.
75 min: Nope, Fernandinho’s no George Boyd. Shackell’s header out from deep isn’t great, but the attempt to volley it back goalwards from 30 yards is worse. Three rugby points, except it might have been wide of the sticks as well.
74 min: Silva is replaced by Jovetic. How costly his miscontrol when romping clear through the middle at 0-0 looks right now.
73 min: Toure, 25 yards out down the right, latches onto a weak Mee headed clearance and batters a low shot towards the bottom left. Shackell blocks it out for a corner on the right, and Burnley yet again deal with the set piece.
72 min: Duff is booked for a clip on Aguero’s ankle. It’s another fairly soft one, that. A free kick here for City, down the inside-left channel, 40 yards out. Silva floats it into the area. Bony, 12 yards out and level with the right-hand post, rises and meets it, but only with a weak header that floats into Heaton’s arms.
70 min: Toure, just outside the Burnley box down the right, flicks a high cross towards Aguero, who flashes a header wide right. Frustration all over his coupon.
68 min: City look a little flustered here. Their season might potentially fall apart this week, with the Barcelona game to come, unless they can turn this round. Maybe that’s a little melodramatic. But they do look flustered, you’ll have to give me that.
65 min: City shift the ball around left and right, but can’t spot a gap in the Burnley back line. Navas eventually drops a shoulder and zips down the right, winning a corner. From the set piece, the ball drops to Fernandinho in George Boyd Country. He attempts a volley himself. Fernandinho is no George Boyd.
63 min: Demichelis slides in aggressively on Trippier, as the right back goes on a romp down his flank. No free kick, which is just as well for Demichelis, because if the referee saw that as a foul, he might have picked up a second yellow card and be walking. Before the game can restart, Dzeko is indeed hooked, with Bony coming on. Time to start paying back a little of that transfer fee, then, because City’s title hopes are hanging by a gossamer thread.
WHAT A GOAL! Burnley 1-0 Manchester City (Boyd 61)
The set piece is floated into the box. Kompany heads it out. But only to Boyd, on the left-hand edge of the D. Boyd meets the dropping ball on the half-volley, and pearls it into the bottom right! Hart had no chance! That was a screamer! Though not the greatest clearance by Kompany, you’d have to say.
60 min: Barnes cuts in from the right and speeds past Demichelis. Or would have done, had the big man not hung out a leg to stop the Burnley forward in his tracks. Free kick, 35 yards from goal down the right, and a yellow for the City defender.
58 min: Mee is booked for a little clip on the back of Navas. That’s a pretty harsh decision. Turf Moor is not a happy place. City flood upfield. Silva, on the edge of the Burnley box down the left, slides a pass inside for Dzeko, who tops his shot like a drunk 28-handicapper. That’s a really poor effort, about as bad as it gets. He’ll be hooked soon, you’d have thought.
56 min: Zabaleta with a throw, deep down the City right. The champions on the attack, but Zabaleta flings the ball straight at Vokes, who rakes a pass up the flank for Ings. It’s a bit too long for Ings. If that was weighted correctly, City were light at the back there. And then another phase of Burnley attack, Ings heading down on the edge of the City area for Boyd, who volleys spectacularly, his effort meant for the top left and flying inches wide. That’s got the crowd going, the home support having started to worry a bit after those City chances.
54 min: Trippier garryowens the ball into the City area from the right. Barnes goes up for the header, but Hart comes to the edge of his area to punch confidently clear.
52 min: Zabaleta powers down the right, leaving Barnes behind, and cuts the ball back for Aguero, who pokes a first-time shot inches wide of the right-hand post from six yards. City have upped the tempo.
51 min: Toure bowls Jones over in the centre circle. Burnley load the City box. Trippier loops the ball forwards, but City clear easily. And then the champions are on the break upfield. Aguero spins away on the centre circle and romps down the inside-right channel. He’s got Silva clear in the middle, and slips the ball his way, but overcooks the pass, pushing his team-mate wide left. There’s a miscontrol in there too. Silva still gets a shot away upon reaching the area, but it’s a tight angle now and Heaton can claim, though he makes a nine-course tasting menu of doing so. City should be leading.
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48 min: A long ball down the middle has City in all sorts of trouble, as for a second it looks like Vokes is going to overpower Dimichelis and zip into the area. But Kompany comes over to sweep up, just in time.
47 min: Aguero is fortunate to escape a booking, as he sticks his studs into Duff’s shin. It wasn’t particularly nasty, but it was clumsy enough and out of control. The referee does nothing.
And we’re off again! Burnley get things moving, and lump the ball down the right wing. A couple of throw ins, and City are pinned back in their own area. Burnley should fling it in, there’s no point being fancy, but fancy they are, and City are able to clear while the home team fiddle.
Half-time entertainment: Billy Smart’s Circus, here, from 1973, the main influence on contemporaneous Manchester City, if the work of erstwhile Guardian reporter Eric Todd (see preamble) is to be believed.
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HALF TIME: Burnley 0-0 Manchester City
No added time. Probably just as well. That could have been better. Jose Mourinho will be enjoying his supper.
43 min: City are passing it around beautifully in midfield, but it’s breaking down again and again the minute they shuttle it forward for Aguero or Dzeko. Navas wins a corner down the right, but the Burnley defence is dealing well with the set pieces.
40 min: Clichy romps down the left and whips a dangerous cross into the middle. Dzeko rises with a view to battering a header home, but crashes into the back of Shackell instead. City have enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, but they’ve only frightened Burnley once or twice. The home side will be happy enough.
38 min: Vokes overpowers Fernandinho in the middle of the park. It’s superlative play, and Burnley are suddenly on the break as Vokes cuts inside and sprays a pass wide right for Trippier. The fullback hoicks a cross into the area, and Ings has sprung a sleepy City back line, but the angles are all wrong, and he can’t contort his body to bring the ball down. Goal kick. That was all a bit lazy from the champions.
36 min: Mee grabs Navas as the City winger looks to make off down the right. It’s a free kick, and should be a booking, but the referee is lenient. And it’s a shaky minute for Mee, who in the next phase of play nearly gifts the ball to Aguero down the inside-right channel as he plays a backpass to Heaton. Inches from disaster, but the ball evades the striker and Burnley breathe again.
34 min: City are testing Burnley now. Navas rolls a lovely ball inside from the right. Silva’s first-time touch down the inside-right channel releases Dzeko into the area. His shot is blocked, but the ball breaks to Aguero, who blazes wildly over from a tight angle on the right. On target, though, and that was the opening goal, for Heaton was out of the picture, having dealt with Dzeko earlier.
32 min: It’s opening up a little now, as City push Burnley back, Fernandinho bursting into the area down the right and whistling a dangerous ball into the centre. Shackell is forced to hack out with Heaton in no man’s land. The corner is a non-event.
30 min: And now one for Burnley, as City fail to clear a Barnes cross from the left. Ings lays off to Arfield, who has a whack from 25 yards. Hart saves.
29 min: Shots on target! Fernandinho rolls a pass down the inside-left channel to release Dzeko into the Burnley box. The striker takes a whack from a tight angle. Heaton parries. Then Aguero, cutting in from the left, attempts to find the bottom-left corner. It’s on target, but easy for Heaton, who snaffles.
27 min: A lot of pretty City triangles in the midfield. But they’re going nowhere right now. The pace of this game has dropped off alarmingly in the last few minutes. Burnley will be more than happy about that.
25 min: Neither team can be bothered to control a bouncing ball, 30 yards from the Burnley goal. Dzeko eventually meets it, and drags a hopeless effort well wide right. Not a shot on target yet, though Burnley have had four efforts in the vague direction of their opponents’ net to City’s three.
22 min: Trippier takes a stride down the right and curls an inviting cross towards Vokes, whose header is firm but always sailing wide right. A decent half-chance, that. “The kit City have turned up in seems a greater clash with Burnley’s than the proper version,” opines Lou Roper. “Should the FA not devise a law that deducts points for teams that fail to wear their proper colours without providing a proper reason (e.g. to prevent a clash, or that the washing machines ate the shirts)?” Preach on, brother.
19 min: Toure slips a ball down the middle for Aguero, who embarks on a twinkle-toed run towards the Burnley box, sliding a little to the right as he does so. He thinks about shooting four or five times, but confuses himself and is eventually crowded out. Burnley did well to hold their shape and not collectively panic there, for it did appear that Aguero was on one.
18 min: Navas scampers down the right at considerable speed. His looping cross is aimed at Silva in the middle, but headed out by Duff. Toure picks up possession 25 yards out, but can’t get a shot away.
17 min: Barnes, 35 yards out down the inside-left channel, attempts a screamer. Probably a bit optimistic, that, but it does balloon off Kompany for another corner down the right. And let’s just say this: Burnley’s approach play has been better than their set pieces so far.
15 min: Navas, on the right, flicks a clever pass inside to release Silva into the box. He takes a touch and shapes to shoot, but Shackell steps in to bang the ball out for a corner. And Burnley deal with the resulting set piece pretty well. Neither keeper has had too much to do yet, but this game has a nice open feel. There could be goals in this.
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14 min: Vokes, tight on the right touchline in the midfield, snaps a low pass inside to release Arfield into acres of space. He’s got Ings racing into position down the inside-left flank, and very nearly sliderules a pass down the channel to set him free. But Zabaleta steps up to intercept.
12 min: But Burnley are enjoying themselves down this right flank. Boyd makes a little space and whips one towards the near post. Kompany is taking no chances, and blooters out for a corner. From which the ball’s hit long and deep, Mee heading over meekly from six yards, level with the far post. No clear-cut chances yet, but Burnley are giving as good as they’re getting.
10 min: Vokes whips a ball into the City box from the right. The ball is intercepted by Clichy, who chests it down with his arms spread wide. A hand ball? Vokes and the Burnley faithful think so. But it’s a good decision. That one was right on the nipples.
9 min: Fernandinho advances on the Burnley area down the middle of the park. From 25 yards, he has a lash instead of feeding Dzeko down the inside-right channel. His shot isn’t much cop, and hits Dzeko anyway, flying out for a goal kick to the right of goal.
8 min: Boyd sprays a long ball down the Burnley right. Ings gets to it ahead of Demichelis, and checks back, clipping the ball over the defender’s head. He’s obstructed by a flapping arm, and claims the free kick on the edge of the area, but there’s hardly any contact and the referee waves play on. It’d have been cheap, but you’ve seen them given.
6 min: City, after a slow start, are beginning to impose themselves. Silva, on the left, shuttles the ball inside to Aguero, who furthers it to Dzeko. Finally the ball’s with Navas down the right. He drops a shoulder, moves towards the byline, and fizzes a low cross into the six-yard box. Heaton comes off his line to smother well, though if Dzeko was on the front foot, he might have beaten the keeper to the ball. A magnificent ball in by Navas.
4 min: Navas in a bit of space down the right, sent scampering down the flank by a lovely stroke from Navas. But with Burnley on the back foot, he hesitates on the edge of the area, neither getting a shot away, nor slipping in Zabaleta on the overlap. A promising move, though.
2 min: Ings, with his back to goal, 40 yards out, spins to his right and makes off down the inside-left channel, before attempting a power curl into the top left from 30 yards. Not a bad effort from that distance, though a little high and wide. The crowd coo appreciatively. A bright start by the home side.
And we’re off! Burnley are quickly on the front foot, Ings busying himself down the left. But the ball’s in Hart’s hands soon enough. A rare old atmosphere at Turf Moor.
The teams are out! Burnley are dressed in the Victorian splendour of their claret-and-blue kit. Manchester City ... why are City not in their first-choice sky blue? Burnley’s sleeves aren’t going to confuse the issue, surely. But they’re in their half-bleached dark blue number, a nod to that appalling Ipswich kit of the late 90s.
The team news: Burnley make two changes, Michael Duff and Sam Vokes replacing Michael Keane and Michael Kightly. Manchester City meanwhile recall their captain Vincent Kompany and best pal Fernandinho, the pair having missed the Leicester City match in the wake of a high-speed toy swap at Anfield. Pablo Zabaleta and Edin Dzeko also return to the starting XI.
Dramatis personæ
Burnley: Heaton, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Arfield, Jones, Boyd, Vokes, Barnes, Ings.
Subs: Wallace, Kightly, Reid, Jutkiewicz, Gilks, Ward, Keane.
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Jesus Navas, Toure, Fernandinho, Silva, Dzeko, Aguero.
Subs: Sagna, Nasri, Caballero, Bony, Lampard, Mangala, Jovetic.
Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands)
Welcome to our coverage of the rematch of the 1973 Charity Shield. That is how this game’s being sold, right?
So in 1973, neither Sunderland, the FA Challenge Cup holders, nor Liverpool, the Football League champions, could be bothered to contest the Charity Shield at the start of the 1973/74 season. In stepped Manchester City, the previous year’s winners, and the Second Division champions Burnley. And in front of a 24,000 crowd at Maine Road, the understudies put on quite a show. Burnley won 1-0, thanks to Colin Waldron’s powerful header in the 66th minute. Not a bad result for a newly promoted side against a team featuring Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell, Denis Law, Francis Lee and Rodney Marsh. Here’s the stand-out passage in erstwhile Guardian reporter Eric Todd’s match report:
City have not yet abandoned their old, exasperating party tricks. These consist of taking the long way round to their opponents’ goal and of baffling each other with fancy passes and other conjuring tricks which may bring down the house at Billy Smart’s Circus, but are not really the most effective way of making and scoring goals.
Ah City. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Here, this should be a cracking game, though, if recent encounters are anything to go by. Burnley came back from two goals down at the City of Manchester Stadium in December, of course, but that’s just the start of it. During Burnley’s last season in the top flight, 2009/10, Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy, Carlos Tevez, Patrick Vieira and Vincent Kompany were the scorers as City won 6-1 at Turf Moor. The pair drew 3-3 that season back at City’s place. In 2001/02, down in the second tier, City registered 5-1 and 4-2 victories. A 5-0 League Cup win for City in 1999. And a 6-0 win for City when the pair met in the third tier earlier that year. That’s quite a run of high-scoring results. Nearly all in City’s favour, it must be said. Burnley’s last win? October 1974, 2-1 at Turf Moor. But they’ll always have that Charity Shield.
Kick off: 5.30pm.
