It was a faltering start for Burnley’s triumphant return to the top flight. First someone decided to host a pointless lights show in bright sunshine to get the crowd excited and then Erling Haaland opened the scoring for Manchester City in the fourth minute. Only one of them made an impact with a flash.
Neither event would do much to whip up a furore in most circumstances but the Burnley supporters are accustomed to what their side can do under Vincent Kompany. City were ahead but feeling the heat at Turf Moor thanks to the constant pressing from the home players and Burnley created half-chances without threatening, although the same could be said of City.
When Kevin De Bruyne was forced off with an injury in the 24th minute, Pep Guardiola called for Mateo Kovacic to make his debut. It was a defensive move for City, accepting they needed more in midfield to cope with their opponent’s exertions. De Bruyne likewise had to go off in the Champions League final against Internazionale but then Guardiola kept things equally attacking, an indication of what he thinks of Kompany and his tactics.
There was one mild problem for Burnley’s industrious side and he goes by the name Haaland. By half-time, his two trademark first-touch finishes inside the box had settled the game but it had done little to dent the optimism inside Turf Moor nor the relentless press.
This was a more pragmatic Burnley than the one that went toe-to-toe with City in the FA Cup in March and felt the harsh realities of facing the impending treble winners as a second-tier side. Six unanswered goals went in that evening at the Etihad and Kompany was eager to show he had learned his lesson from his former tutor Guardiola.
On Friday, five defenders were set across the back to limit the space to thread passes through for Haaland et al, while Sander Berge and the captain, Josh Cullen, made sure there was an added layer of protection in front. The Norwegian arrived at Burnley on Wednesday but already looked to have learned the complex demands of Kompany for a midfielder.
Burnley let City have the ball, especially in their own defensive third, hoping their pressing would force the visitors into a mistake they could capitalise on. City had two-thirds of possession at Turf Moor, a far greater percentage than in the FA Cup meeting, when Burnley enjoyed a luxurious 42% of the ball. It was a sign that Kompany had accepted Burnley’s limitations in order to make them stronger.
For all the harrying and hustling, a slight naivety could be seen with the Burnley players. It is little surprise this is the case considering Connor Roberts, Dara O’Shea and Berge were their only starters with much Premier League experience behind them, although Cullen made three appearances for West Ham. One can imagine Craig Bellamy, a master of the dark arts and Kompany’s assistant manager, giving lectures on the tricks of the Premier League trade to his fledglings to help them fight at this level.
Last season Burnley proved too good for the Championship and on the evidence of their first Premier League outing, they will be more than capable of staying up. Facing Manchester City on the opening night of the season was a daunting prospect but they were as prepared as they could be for the event and will have matured from the experience of facing the best. Easier tasks lie ahead.
As an indication of how well Burnley coped with City’s attacking threat, Guardiola harangued Haaland on the way off the pitch at the break for his efforts in the first period, and demanding the ball from Bernardo Silva when the Portuguese preferred to protect the lead. Haaland, despite his two goals, needed to do more to pull Burnley around and open up the space City require to damage opponents. But the effort taken to keep Haaland vaguely quiet was shown when the centre-back Jordan Beyer went down with cramp before 70 minutes were up.
As the scoreline suggests, it was not the perfect night for Kompany. He was left frustrated by an inability to test Ederson, conceding twice from set pieces and Anass Zaroury’s late red card. As with everything when facing the Champions League winners, it was a learning opportunity.
Kompany has earned his chance to test himself against the best in the business. This season is, arguably, an audition for the Belgian, a chance to show what he could do at a bigger club than Burnley. They will not be judged on nights like this but showed more than enough that Kompany and his players will be in the Premier League for the long term.
