Burnley vs Manchester City. Premier League.
Turf MoorAttendance20,101.
Match report and highlights as Manchester City returned to winning ways with a thumping 4-1 win at Turf Moor thanks to two goals from Gabriel Jesus
Wednesday 4 December 2019 07:51, UK
Gabriel Jesus struck twice to get Manchester City back to winning ways and back up to second in the Premier League with a 4-1 victory at Burnley on Tuesday night.
City - who fell further away from runaway leaders Liverpool at the weekend - closed back to within eight points of Jurgen Klopp's side in the table ahead of the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night.
Jesus, in again for the injured Sergio Aguero, netted his third and fourth Premier League goals of the season either side of half-time, breaking his eight-game barren run for City.
Rodri and Riyad Mahrez then capped the win in the second half, to secure a great result for City as they head towards the Manchester derby on Saturday evening - which is live on Sky Sports Premier League. Robbie Brady notched a late consolation for Burnley, which was significant in denying City a clean sheet for an eighth game in a row in all competitions.
City had the ball in the net after six minutes when Angelino's shot from range was smartly flicked home by Jesus, but the Brazilian was rightly flagged for offside. When he next found the net after 24 minutes, though, it was the opener and it was brilliant.
A swift counter-attack was launched by City as Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri combined to find David Silva. He then slipped in Jesus, who cut inside the area from the left and curled an absolute beauty into the side netting past the helpless dive of Nick Pope.
Pope could do little about that one, but did brilliantly to deny City twice more before half-time. First, after 34 minutes, he stopped Raheem Sterling from close range after De Bruyne's low cross into the six-yard box. Then, after 43 minutes, he kept out Bernardo Silva's low drive with his leg after a swift City counter.
Shortly after the break, however, City did manage to double their lead. It came after 50 minutes as they worked the ball from side to side and found Bernardo, who whipped a fine cross in for Jesus to volley into the roof of the net.
City's third after 68 minutes was even more emphatic. Rodri netted just his second goal for the club with a thunderous effort after Ben Mee's headed clearance dropped kindly into his path.
Their fourth was even better as Mahrez grabbed his 50th Premier League goal in trademark fashion, dribbling to the edge of the area before drilling a shot home. Burnley then went up the other end and struck back as another substitute, Robbie Brady, fired into the roof of the net.
Burnley's Sean Dyche: "It's a tough result to take. But they are a top side and they turned up today. I felt first half we kept it tight, but early in the second half we never came out. From the second goal it was tough. When a group of £50m players turn up, it makes it really tough. We tried to have a rally but they have top class players and it showed tonight.
"We've suffered this week with a few injuries, but you have to catch them on a quiet day and you have to play well. The opposite happened and against these teams you can't give them a sniff."
Manchester City's Pep Guardiola: "We played today like we tried. I'm glad for the fact we passed the ball more than usual this evening, but we are built to pass the ball. We need to move the ball more, but we did it really well today.
"Our team is stable, but with the distance we have to Liverpool, it would be a little bit crazy to think about the title, honestly. We have to think about the derby and game-by-game. It's not just the Premier League. We have the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League so we just have to take this rhythm into the next set of fixtures.
"It's a good result thanks to our performance as we played really well. I'm so satisfied with the way we played, and the way we have been playing in the last few games."
It had been a while since Jesus had scored for City. He has suffered at times playing second fiddle to Aguero, but back in the starting XI for the second game he looked sharper and took both his goals superbly.
"Gabriel's first goal is especially good and his second was an incredible assist from Bernardo," said Guardiola after the game. "We need him and he needed to score these two goals as they will help him and the team in the absence of our incredible striker Sergio [Aguero]."
Burnley travel to face Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off is at 3pm. Manchester City host Manchester United live on Saturday Night Football. Coverage starts on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event at 5pm with kick-off at 5.30pm.
