Liverpool had a brief time to enjoy the sight of the league table. Then came the confirmation that while overtaking Manchester City was an achievement, finishing above them will be a far greater one.
While City had a two-hour sojourn in second, it took them five minutes to demonstrate they would reclaim the status they held for four months. The opener came so quickly that Jürgen Klopp was able to reference it in his post-match interviews after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Watford at Anfield. Statements of intent are rarely quicker or more eloquent.
“To be honest, we don’t speak about our contenders to be champions,” Pep Guardiola said. Actions conveyed City’s message instead.
If City, 14 points clear of Liverpool in January, passed a psychological test as they looked utterly unruffled by being briefly downgraded to second, they showed the assurance of a side with little need to worry about scorelines elsewhere.
They dispatched Burnley with a performance of elegant dominance. They did it their way: while Klopp has forwards of Diogo Jota’s potency, City share the goals around and Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan struck. Twin volleys were their version of taking the aerial approach.
Guardiola said the grass at Turf Moor was the longest he had experienced in the Premier League so City took the pitch out of the equation each time. Raheem Sterling was a selfless supplier for both, running past, beyond and behind Charlie Taylor at will.
“He was decisive in all the actions,” said Guardiola, who thought the winger was lifted by captaining England on Tuesday. “I have a feeling he is arriving in a really good moment.” His performance lacked only a finish, Sterling miscuing a volley after a delightful pass from Phil Foden, but his crossing was more accurate.
Burnley’s narrow tactics also afforded João Cancelo freedom and he was predictably influential, part full-back, part playmaker. In the middle, Rodri ran the game, but he will rarely have an easier match.
The Burnley of cliche, the obdurate opponents who frustrate their supposed superiors with their abrasiveness and organisation, were nowhere to be seen. Ominously, given the growing probability of relegation, they looked a side shorn of spirit. Such fight as Burnley displayed was of the wrong variety: Wout Weghorst was fortunate to escape with only a yellow card for elbowing Cancelo.
City have long specialised in swatting Burnley aside in more legitimate ways. This was a 10th straight win against them and the aggregate score now stands at 34‑1. “They are a top side, put together for hundreds of millions of pounds,” said Sean Dyche in mitigation, before grasping for a positive. “We have 10 games to go and they are all not against Man City.”
Perhaps this miserable record prompted him to change tack, abandoning his famous fondness for 4-4-2 and adding an extra midfielder but the game was gone long before the benched Maxwel Cornet was summoned at half-time. Ederson was only tested by the replacement Jay Rodriguez’s 75th-minute shot. Briefly, however, Dyche may have sensed early vindication. Josh Brownhill had the licence to break from deep and met Aaron Lennon’s cross with a header that almost flew into the net from 18 yards.
Thereafter, Dyche’s plans backfired. While Burnley fielded three largely defensive midfielders, within 25 minutes City’s central trio had mustered five shots, all while essentially unmarked, and scored twice. Rodri could have had two goals inside 10 minutes. His sidekicks proved more clinical.
When Rodri angled a deep cross, Taylor allowed Sterling too much room to tee up De Bruyne. His finish was emphatic, rasping and rising. De Bruyne and Sterling combined again, a one-two culminating in the England player speeding clear to chip in a cross. Gündogan timed his arrival in the penalty area to cushion a volley past Nick Pope.
The goalkeeper was required to excel, especially when Foden improvised a backheeled shot. The substitute Gabriel Jesus volleyed over and then struck the post.
“We had chances to do more for the goal difference against Liverpool,” said Guardiola. Wins will suffice instead. “We have to feel the pressure that every game we play if we lose we are not going to win, we will be out.”
Smiling and relaxed, he scarcely seemed weighed down by the pressure.
