Manchester City brushed aside Burnley 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, extending their remarkable run to 14 straight wins over the Clarets.
The scoreline was shaped by two Maxime Esteve own goals and a late Erling Haaland brace, with Matheus Nunes also on the scoresheet. Burnley briefly threatened when Jaidon Anthony equalised in the first half, but City’s firepower proved too much in the closing stages.
City’s opener came inside the opening minutes when Jeremy Doku skipped past Kyle Walker on the left and forced a save from Martin Dubravka. The rebound struck Esteve, who diverted the ball into his own net under pressure from Phil Foden.
Burnley responded before the interval, capitalising on a sloppy City pass to break forward. Quilindschy Hartman squared for Anthony, whose effort deflected off Ruben Dias to level the contest. The equaliser gave the visitors belief as Lyle Foster went close with an overhead kick.
City, however, regained control after the restart. In the 61st minute, Josko Gvardiol’s cross found Haaland, who headed back across goal for Nunes to lash home from close range. Moments later, Oscar Bobb’s mis-hit shot ricocheted off Esteve for his second own goal of the night, restoring City’s cushion.
The champions pressed on and were rewarded late. Haaland, who had earlier squandered a chance, converted Doku’s cross in the 90th minute before pouncing on a defensive error from Esteve and Florentino Luis in stoppage time to seal his brace.
Pep Guardiola’s side, missing Rodri ahead of their European trip to Monaco, rarely looked troubled after regaining the lead and once again underlined their supremacy over Burnley, who have not beaten City in 14 attempts.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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