Manchester City have certainly found their shooting boots. They followed up Tuesday’s 7-0 romp against RB Leipzig in the Champions League with a comfortable 6-0 triumph over Burnley to advance into the FA Cup semi finals.
Naturally, Erling Haaland led the way as the Etihad crowd were given another all-firing showing from their team in the space of four days. The Norwegian couldn’t manage another five-goal haul but he did claim his second hat-trick of the week and the sixth of the season. He is absolutely firing and so are City.
These are two confidence-inducing performances for Pep Guardiola as his team continue to fight on in three competitions. The only shame, for them, is that they have to wait until April 1 for their next game: at home to Liverpool. In this form, Arsenal will worry that the Manchester juggernaut cannot be stopped.
But this was about the FA Cup and City have now reached the last-four for the sixth time under Guardiola. After Haaland scored his 27-minute hat-trick, Julian Alvarez scored a brace and substitute Cole Palmer got another as the visiting Championship team were prevented from reaching their first semi final since 1974.
Of course, the overriding narrative of this quarter final was Vincent Kompany in the away dugout. Kompany spent 11 glittering years at City, during which he won two FA Cups, and Guardiola said that it is the former City captain’s ‘destiny’ to one day manage at the Etihad, but this was a reality check.
The difference between Burnley and City is substantial. Kompany’s current team may lead the Championship by 13 points and are destined for an immediate return to the Premier League, but they were no match for City once the home team got going.
Story of the game
It was a far from convincing start by City, who made seven changes to the team from midweek. Attacking talents such as Alvarez, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez came in to join Haaland in the forward line but they hardly tested Burnley in the first half hour. Rather once the visitors found their feet, given they are not used to so little possession in their promotion charge, they were the brighter.
Rarely has a visiting manager received such a welcome. Kompany was applauded, offered plenty of hands to shake and even had his name read out with gusto over the tannoy — and he will have perked up even more once his team grew in confidence and started to peg City back.
One positive move saw Nathan Tella, fresh from a midweek hat-trick of his own against Hull City, slip while shooting but his strike from distance still forced Stefan Ortega into a diving save. Soon afterwards, Jordan Beyer played a through ball for Tella which was intercepted by a sliding Ruben Dias just in time.
However, City, and Haaland in particular, only need one chance and that came on 33 minutes. It was route one but still beautiful. Ortega sent the ball downfield and Haaland controlled and tapped it back to Alvarez. The Argentinian fed his forward partner, who had turned and ran through the middle, and he finished past Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Once City get up and running it is hard to see past them, and a second goal quickly followed to leave the visitors dazed. This time Kevin De Bruyne and Foden were co-creators, the former rolling a pass that split the Burnley defence. Foden crossed for Haaland and the centre-forward opened his body to dispatch his second.
Games can quickly get away from you when facing City. Burnley were relieved to not be further behind by the break and the size of their task in trying to get back into the contest was evidenced when Dias eased in to halt Josh Cullen in his tracks after the interval — the Championship’s top-scorers could not find a way past the City backline.
The cutting edge was all City’s, albeit Peacock-Farrell did his best to stop them. Rodri passed wide to Kyle Walker whose first-time ball was met with a Mahrez volley that the Burnley ‘keeper did well to repel. He then saved from Haaland, but the tide was coming.
On 59 minutes, Foden struck the post and Haaland moped up in typical poacher’s fashion to net his hat-trick taking him to 42 goals for the season. Only moments later Alvarez got in on the act. De Bruyne weaved through traffic and slid in the striker who could not miss.
With the tie over substitutions came, as did Palmer. De Bruyne ran into space, fed Foden and his cross was pawed by Peacock-Farrell towards the 20-year-old who tapped in from close range. Alvarez scored his second in the 73rd minute when De Bruyne released him and the Argentinian sent Ameen Al-Dakhil to ground before slamming home to seal another rout.
Player of the match: Erling Haaland
Another game, another hat-trick for the prolific Norweigan striker. No team can stop him at the moment and it was his triple that took this FA Cup quarter final beyond Burnley, who had actually started the game quite brightly.