Burnley boss Sean Dyche described his team's 2-1 defeat against Manchester City as "the one that got away", after the Clarets failed to add to their lowly one point on the road in the Premier League so far this season.

Too much respect granted

It was an unrecognisable Burnley performance for the most part, despite a reckless two-footed challenge by Fernandinho earning the Brazilian a red card on the half hour mark. Even though City ended up playing the majority of the game with a player less, they were afforded time and space instead of the dogged and determined approach normally associated with the Clarets.

The Burnley midfield often dropped too deep, allowing the talented City midfielders to pick their passes in and around the spaces that were created. The central defensive partnership of Ben Mee and Michael Keane also drifted out of line on a regular occurrence. The Clarets were loose in defence, with Mee giving the ball away before a double save from Tom Heaton bailed his teammate out and then another loose ball from Stephen Ward granted Yaya Toure the opportunity to test the England goalkeeper.

Yet City themselves were also guilty of allowing the opposition too much room, particularly as they attempted the see out the result towards the end of the game. Sam Vokes found himself with a free header, before Keane had room to attempt a volley, though neither could find the back of the net to snatch a draw.

Burnley unable to cope with tactical adjustments

The game hinged on a half-time intervention by City manager Pep Guardiola. With the hosts unable to take advantage of the space bestowed upon them, Guardiola introduced David Silva and Sergio Aguero. With the introduction of the pairing came an increased intensity and change of formation, allowing Toure to control the game from deep, whilst Silva, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne were granted the freedom to support Aguero in attack.

As Burnley were pushed further back despite their numerical advantage, Silva and Aguero both had a hand in the goals. The former jumped over Gael Clichy's effort after blocking the vision of Heaton for long enough to prevent the goalkeeper from scrambling across. Clichy again was allowed too much space by Scott Arfield on this occasion. Aguero was then on hand four minutes later to convert from a tight angle whilst Keane and Matthew Lowton were left static on the line.

A combination of poor defending and tactical adjustments leaves Burnley bottom of the ladder for their away form in the Premier League.