Manchester City 5-0 Burnley: As it happened

Thank you for following VAVEL's coverage of Manchester City vs Burnley. For all the best sporting coverage, be sure to keep an eye on VAVEL UK!

The City duo were outstanding. This was Mahrez's best match of the season and de Bruyne reminded people of his obvious qualities - not that they needed reminding.

The Belgian dominated the match from start to finish and the Algerian looked like he was going to score at every opportunity. 

My ratings:  Manchester City: Ederson 6; Walker 8, Dias 6, Stones 6, Mendy 8; Rodri 7; Gundogan 7, De Bruyne 9; Mahrez 9, Jesus 7, Torres 7. 

Subs: Fernandinho 6, Foden 7, Garcia 6. 

 

Burnley: Peacock-Farrell 5; Lowton 6, Tarkowski 5, Mee 5, Taylor 5; Rodriguez 5, Westwood 5, Benson 6, McNeil 6; Wood 5, Barnes 5. 

Subs: Pieters 6, Vydra 6. 

City are now 8th, six points behind the league leaders, Liverpool. Burnley are in 17th with a goal difference of -13. Contrasting fortunes. 

Another horror show in Manchester for Burnley. What can you say? It's beyond a fluke now. I think the 4-4-2 system that Burnley use is perfect for City. One less man in midfield. Two attackers that basically aren't involved in the game. They can create overload after overload. 

 

City were great. They flexed their muscles in depth with a confident and mature display, despite not fielding the likes of Laporte, Cancelo and Sterling. This result had been coming for a while and Burnley made it quite easy for them. Nonetheless, it was a sign of the old City. 

90: De Bruyne nearly gets his goal. Mahrez played a lovely pass into his path and the Belgian nearly breaks the post with a ferocious strike across Peacock-Farrell. 

89: Burnley just want the whistle. They have battled hard for a consolation but it's just not their day.

87: Foden had ensured that City haven't lost their mojo since hitting five goals. What more does he have to do to get a regular starting position? Guardiola is carefully managing his minute again. Perhaps his manager was a little unimpressed with those off-the-field antics a couple of months ago. He will not want the 20-year-old to lose himself. 

84: McNeil is forward in a very advanced position but, after finding an angle, he sends his shot into row Z.

83: Taylor with a wicked delivery into the box but Rodriguez isn't expecting the chance, watching the ball go across his head. Great chance for a consolation. 

81: Vydra for Barnes. Not much time to impress for the Czech. 

80: Foden wriggles around Tarkowski but his shot deflects over the bar. 

79: Ederson taking some liberties by dribbling with the ball near the touchline. He knocks the ball out of play, under pressure from Rodriguez. It's easy street for City.

77: Peacock-Farrell's blushes are spared as Jesus is inches offside. 

74: De Bruyne gets in behind and sets up Jesus for a tap-in. Peacock-Farrell makes a tremendous save but then he inexplicably knocks the ball into the net with his arm.

75: Amid those goals, Garcia came on for Dias. It's easy street for City. 

73: This really is Burnley's nightmare fixture. The way Burnley play is clearly gold-dust for this City team. 

71: City have now racked up 5-0 scorelines on their last four meetings at the Etihad against the Clarets. Quite remarkable!

69: City are running away with this! De Bruyne plays an inch-perfect pass to Foden and his first involvement is to play a lovely cross into the box for Mahrez. The Algerian cannot miss, joyfully nodding in City's fifth goal, completing his hat-trick. 

68: Pieters on for Wood and Foden on for Torres.

66: A really well worked goal from City. Walker races on to Mahrez's cutting through pass and pulls the ball back to Jesus. The Brazilian unselfishly tees-up Torres, who slides the ball past Peacock-Farrell. 

65: Tarkowski's up and he's okay. Play resumes with City. 

64: Tarkowski is still down receiving treatment. He seemed to get clattered from all angles. Possible concussion so they are just being doubly careful. 

61: Benson almost got a goal on his Premier League debut. His free-kick, from the edge of the area, takes a small nick of Dias and floats narrowly wide as a result. The resulting corner causes more mayhem in the box but Tarkowski is now the on the floor after being clattered. Play has stopped. 

60: Ederson forced into a smart save! Rodriguez reacts quickly to a break in the box and he smashes a shot towards goal. His angled effort is palmed away by the keeper but Barnes wins a free-kick on the edge of the area. 

59: Jesus had a great opportunity to release Mahrez in on goal but he couldn't quite get the ball under his control. A let-off for Burnley. 

59: There has been more attacking impetus in Burnley's game but City look a little more relaxed. Nonetheless, it's still the home team who look the more likely to get the next goal. They're in a cushy position. 

56: De Bruyne plays a lovely reverse pass to Mahrez and his deflected delivery causes panic for Peacock-Farrell. The keeper falls down after a challenge in the box and the referee awards a free-kick to the Clarets.

54: Walker stormed past Taylor but his fizzing cross took several deflections. On the counter, McNeil's clipped past to Wood amounts to nothing, though, as the striker has strayed off-side. 

52: De Bruyne finds space in the middle and has the Burnley defence back-peddling. His 25-yard effort, however, sails well wide. 

50: Burnley almost work a nice opening with some nice territorial play but Westwood's cross is deflected out for a corner. That corner, again, doesn't amount to much, but Barnes clattered with Mee in going for an aerial challenge. It's Barnes who is down on the ground. He looks okay, though. 

47: Westwood found Barnes with a lofted pass. The striker brought the ball down well but then screwed his shot wide. 

46: Fernandinho on for Rodri. Burnley unchanged. 

Burnley will hope that Guardiola is keen to rest some of his troops. De Bruyne? Unlikely. The Belgian wasn't even in the squad against Olympiacos as Guardiola felt that he needed a rest. Expect him to play the 90 minutes. 

Sterling and Cancelo, two high performers in the Champions League, may be given a full rest in this moment. Foden may get an opportunity, though. The youngster hasn't started as many games as he would have liked. 

De Bruyne has thrived in a free role. He has orchestrated almost everything good that Man City have done. Aside from Mahrez and his brace, he has been the main protagonist for the hosts. 

Men against boys. You have to credit the fact that Dyche tried something different, playing three forwards from the start. But two defensive lapses ruined any tactical plans. Mendy's volley was an outstanding finish, though, and it was symptomatic of a heavyweight opponent. 

45+1: Jesus wriggled clear in the box but his shot was high and wide as he saw a wrack of bodies in-front of him. Some of his team-mates would feel that they were in better positions. 

45: Where do Burnley go from here? They are simply in the middle of a dragon and its wrath. Burnley have been here many times before. Same old story for them. 

43: It looks as though Burnley are going to be the victims of a City massacre. They haven't managed a true annihilation in the Premier League, this season, but there were signs in the midweek Olympiacos win that they aren't far off a mauling. Today, they have been absolutely ruthless. 

40: Wonderful finish from Mendy. De Bruyne plays a delightful clipped ball to the back post and the advanced Mendy places a sumptuous volley across Peacock-Farrell and into the corner. 

40: A bit of pressure from Burnley. Westwood left one on Stones. City still in control but a bit of aggression from their players now. 

37: The free-kick came to nothing but Burnley were able to hold onto the ball for a good minute afterwards. Some good, composed passing. Benson and McNeil showing some nifty footwork in the middle of the pitch. 

36: Barnes, this time, winning a free-kick. He draws Dias in who trips him up. An appetising position to whip a ball in. 

35: It's the first time Wood has got hold of the ball in a while. He did well, controlling the ball on his chest and winning the foul. Feeding off scraps. 

31: McNeil powered past two City challenges but got stuck on the touchline. He managed to navigate a delivery into the box but nobody was on the end of it. Good endeavour from the winger. 

30: Burnley seem to be playing with an inferiority complex. It's as if they know what this stadium does to them. It's very, very easy for the home team.

26: Peacock-Farrell very lucky! Jesus' header flicks off Torres and the keeper makes a real mess of the save, watching the ball spin off his hand and into the net. Thankfully, for him, Torres was stood in an offside position so the goal was disallowed. 

25: De Bruyne almost caught out Peacock-Farrell with an audacious 50-yard floated effort. The keeper got back to turn the ball over. 

25: You simply can't make mistakes against this team. Two defensive errors have results in two goals. Mahrez, as I've said, loves playing against Burnley. He has been absolutely ruthless so far. 

22: Embarrassing from Burnley. A simply throw from Walker catches Mee out. Mahrez skips inside unchallenged and smashes the ball in off the post. Two mistakes and two goals. 

19: Half-hearted shouts for a handball in the Burnley box but City rework an opening to Walker. The right-back's shot from the edge of the box was always rising. 

16: De Bruyne is in the free-role in front of the forward trio. Burnley are struggling to keep tabs on him. It's difficult to mark the best player in the Premier League at the best of times! 

14: Burnley have fought back well after their initial adversity. Tarkowski will be disappointed with his sloppy antics. 

9: A bit of territorial play for Burnley. They have had a free-kick and a corner in quick succession but it didn't amount to much. 

7: Mahrez has a good record against Burnley. He scored a brace in their last outing at the Etihad. Today, he got an early Christmas present. 

6: Manchester City are ahead. A really sloppy pass from Tarkowski leaves the Clarets short at the back. De Bruyne turns and slips in Mahrez who easily slides the ball across Peacock-Farrell. Good football by City but poor from Burnley. 

5: Gundogan slipped a ball through the midfield to Torres. The Spaniard had acres of space on the edge of the box but his shot lacked precision and it sailed over the bar. Should have done better.

2: Taylor fortunate not to get an early booking after cynically dragging back Mahrez. The Algerian skipped around him easily on the right-hand side. His reusulting free-kick was easily cleared. 

1: Rodriguez is lining up at right-midfield. Barnes and Wood up-front. It looks like a makeshift 4-4-2. 

1: And we're off!

A true great of the footballing game. May the Argentine legend rest in peace. 

This fixture always finishes 5-0 or at least it seems to!

Manchester City seem to be struggling to maintain their intensity amid this manic schedule. Defensively, they look much more assured but they are lacking zip in attack. Their 100 point team often deployed an attack of Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane. Now, Aguero is often on the sidelines, Sane has left and Sterling is struggling for form. Guardiola needs an attacking three, like Liverpool, who play consistently well. 

Burnley recorded their first victory of the season against Crystal Palace and it was badly needed. The Clarets had been improving their defensive resolve before the second international break but they looked rather toothless up-front. Jay Rodriguez’s return to the starting eleven helped to make the Burnley attack that little bit more dynamic; it gave Chris Wood more to work with and the New Zealand international looked like a different player. 

City love facing Sean Dyche’s team at the Etihad. Burnley struggle because they sit deep with virtually no pace to counter with. Guardiola’s team can play with a defensive-line that basically sits halfway up the field and that means they can slowly wear Burnley down with territorial possession. They aren’t scoring as many as they usually do so getting five goals might just be out of reach this time. 

Prediction: 4-0 

Can Peacock-Farrell better the efforts of Pope and Hart on this ground. Both goalkeepers shipped an average of 5 goals at the Etihad, whilst playing for the Clarets. The barometer is not too high!

The Argentine has a good goal-scoring record against Burnley. He isn't fit for today's match and that will delight the visitors. Only De Bruyne, Jesus and Mahrez to worry about now!

 

After the undercard of Jurgen Klopp vs Des Kelly, we're now just ten minutes away from kick-off at the Etihad! 

The BT coverage of the Burnley game is being delayed because of Jurgen Klopp's fascinating battle against Des Kelly on the scheduling of fixtures. Popcorn time!

 

 

Burnley have lost their previous three meetings at the Etihad by the same 5-0 scoreline. The omens aren't great for the visitors but Dyche's interesting line-up is designed to change their fortunes. 

Kevin de Bruyne has been a little out-of-sorts, this season, but he will be smelling blood against Burnley. The Belgian missed a penalty on his last match at the Etihad but he will be confident in righting those wrongs if he is presented with a similar opportunity, this afternoon. 

The game's finished at the AMEX and it finished 1-1 between Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool. A late penalty for Pascal Gross levelled the scores after Andy Robertson's sloppy challenge on Danny Welbeck.

He's not a happy bunny! Safe to say that Guardiola's tinkering has frustrated a few people. Foden's omission seems to be a big talking point.

They do have a wealth of options available to them, they really do! Although, I have to admit that I'm slightly surprised Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling aren't starting. The duo played a very mood match in midweek. But that's what comes with having a squad. 

My guess is that Barnes is back in for his ability to frustrate. He is an annoying customer at the best of times and his theatrics could win Burnley some free-kick breathing space when the going gets tough. 

Even as a Burnley editor, it's very difficult to pre-empt how the Clarets might be set up. It could be a 4-4-2 with McNeil on the right and Barnes or Rodriguez as an auxiliary left-midfielder. That being said, Dyche could have called upon Pieters or Gudmundsson if he had wanted. 

 

Are Burnley moving away from their 4-4-2? It looks like it. Ashley Barnes, Jay Rodriguez and Chris Wood are all starting! It's also a Premier League debut for Josh Benson. It's very gung ho!

Raheem Sterling is on the bench for the hosts, as is Joao Cancelo. That isn't too good for my fantasy team! Other than that, it looks to be a mixed team from Guardiola. John Stones is back in the fold and Benjamin Mendy has also returned. 

Peacock-Farrell, Lowton, Mee, Tarkowski, Taylor; Westwood, Benson, McNeil; Barnes, Wood, Rodriguez.

Subs: Norris, Gudmundsson, Pieters, Vydra, Long, Dunne, Goodridge.

Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Mendy; Gundogan, Rodrigo; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Torres; Jesus.

Subs: Steffen, Sterling, Silva, Fernandinho, Cancelo, Foden, Garcia.

Do not miss a detail of the match with the live updates and commentaries of VAVEL.

 

Follow along with us all the details, commentaries, analysis and lineups for Manchester City vs Burnley.

You can watch the game on BT Sport 1/1HD/Ultimate. 

If you don't have a BT Sport subscription, then VAVEL UK is your best option!

"Bailey is a very good goalkeeper and an international goalkeeper don't forget.

"He doesn't always have it easy on that script either so he is used to spells when the game is tough and you have a defensive unit working hard in front of you.

"He has performed well for us and I think he has developed well and is going along the same sort of lines as Popey did back in the day. Popey was a slow burner but we assured him how the development was going and when his chance came he delivered a very good performance and sort of never really looked back.

"Bailey has a different route at the moment to possibly play and when he has played before he has done very well.

Behind the games I think he has been developing, the way I look at him in training."

“He’s going to give us good moments this season,” the manager added.

“He’s still not in his best condition. We cannot forget how long his injury was and he came back and was injured again.

"He is a guy who in the middle of the season needs to be so sharp.

"He has always had the quality to score in the box, we don't have doubts about that but he needs a bit of time and training sessions to get the minutes he will have. 

"He deserves talks that are fair for him and everyone. I have been lucky to play with great players and he is one, for sure, but especially as a human being.

Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; Rodri; De Bruyne, Foden; Torres, Jesus, Sterling.

Burnley: Peacock-Farrell; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Westwood, Brownhill, McNeil; Rodriguez, Wood.

Courtesy of Dan Barnes:

Pep Guardiola has a fully fit squad to choose from, with Nathan Ake back in training after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Gabriel Jesus looks set to start as Sergio Aguero continues his journey back to full fitness.

Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope is a doubt after taking a blow to the head in Monday night’s win at Turf Moor.

Robbie Brady and Dale Stephens are also likely to miss out through injury.

Sean Dyche would have been delighted after finally seeing his players break their winless duck in the league. Chris Wood's solitary strike was enough to oversee a rigid Crystal Palace group. 

This, however, represents a momentous task and Dyche will know that he's playing for bonus points at the Etihad. 

Pep Guardiola will be determined to get back to winning ways after a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Although, they did maintain their 100% winning record in the Champions League. Now, they need to steer themselves back into a strong level of domestic form. 

Manchester City vs Burnley will be played in Manchester, England.

The kick-off is scheduled on Saturday, 15.00 BST.

Welcome to VAVEL UK's LIVE coverage of the 2020/21 Premier League match: Manchester City vs Burnley!