Burnley fell to their first away defeat of the season, and their first in six games as Manchester City used their class to power their way to a 3-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.
Here are how the Burnley players got on, despite the defeat.
Goalkeeper and Defence:
Nick Pope: Pope was in decent form again but did concede a penalty, no matter how contentious he and the Burnley faithful may have found the incident. He did make some great saves, including one which led to the tweet below, to keep his side in the game but, in the end, City’s attacking prowess was too much as he would go on to concede twice in three minutes which really did end all hopes of a comeback. (6 out of 10)
83 - Pope saves from Jesus. Amen to that! 0-3
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) October 21, 2017
Matt Lowton: He did very well up against City’s ever-changing wide players, containing them for the majority of the game. He supported the attack well but, as mentioned in previous weeks, it was his final ball that let him down today. (6)
James Tarkowski: The partnership at the heart of Burnley’s defence is proving hard to break down, as Sergio Aguero struggled to influence the game after his penalty on his return from injury. Ever improving which has been largely helped by the stability around him at the back. Booked. (7)
Ben Mee: His experience alongside Tarkowski have allowed Burnley to feel comfortable when defending as they both have formed a good partnership. Mee showed this experience when making decisions, such as when to play out from the back and when to clear his lines. The score line certainly didn’t reflect the performance from everyone. (7)
Stephen Ward: Much like Lowton, Ward dealt well with the constant dangerous attacks from City’s wide players. But he will be encouraged in keeping his place and has definitely improved in the stable back line and has surely solidified himself in Ireland’s World Cup play-off squad next month.
Midfield and Attack
Scott Arfield: Playing in a wider position, Arfield was able to cut in on numerous occasions and either find the feet of his striker or have a shot himself. He was adjudged to go in too strongly on City goalkeeper Ederson when pouncing on a loose ball, denying him the chance at an early goal. (6)
Jack Cork: Cork played in his usual holding role and protected his back four well from the on rushing City midfielders. He also played some key passes forward, including the one for the aforementioned Arfield chance. Solid as usual, but the constant home dominance got a bit too much for him. Booked.(7)
Steven Defour: Alongside Cork, the Belgian marshalled the midfield well before being replaced late on. Prefers to get forward but just couldn’t do that as he would be guarding against a potential City counter attack. (6)
Robbie Brady: Struggled to make too much of an impact as he spent more time defending than he did attacking. His set pieces were once again causing problems especially with the Clarets height advantage. (6)
Jeff Hendrick: Fellow Irishman Hendrick was bypassed as the majority of Burnley’s attacks went over the midfield instead of through it. When he did get on the ball, he looked dangerous and looked like creating opportunities. (6)
Chris Wood: Was causing problems and did create the first chance of the game. But was forced off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury in the first half, so could be out for a long time with that. (6)
Substitutes
Ashley Barnes: Came on for Wood when he got injured but struggled to get going as service dried up for him as City slowly took control of the game. (6)
Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson: Was thrown on to try and add fresh legs to the midfield, but was over run as City turned on the style with two goals almost immediately after the Icelandic’s introduction. (6)
Ashley Westwood: Did get on but didn’t play long enough to get a rating.