Pep Guardiola has hailed the “beyond extraordinary” solidarity within the Manchester City squad after their 5-1 thrashing of Burnley on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium.

A laboured first half saw City go into the break on level terms, as Burnley defender Maxime Esteve turned into his own net 12 minutes in, off a parried shot from Jeremy Doku, before Jaidon Anthony restored parity minutes before the interval.

The hosts turned up the heat in the second half, though, as Matheus Nunes smashed home a close-range volley on the hour mark before forcing Esteve into a second own goal to put the result to bed.

Erling Haaland then feasted on a tired Burnley defence, netting twice inside the final three minutes of stoppage time to seal a comfortable win.

Following challenging losses against Tottenham and Brighton, and a late draw with Arsenal last time out, Guardiola was delighted to see his side return to winning ways.

“It was really good, except maybe 10 to 15 minutes when we dropped our rhythm to play,” Guardiola said to Sky Sports. “Burnley, all their other results were so tight but we scored five goals.

“The second half, from minute one was so different. I’m really pleased of the game we played. The Premier League, it's so tough.

“Since the United game, our spirit is much, much better. If we don't play good, we defend as a group. The solidarity is beyond extraordinary. Today we made a good result.”

The Spaniard was also full of praise for former City captain Kyle Walker, who was tasked with containing Jeremy Doku, who capped a strong performance with a late assist to Haaland.

“Walker played a really good game, it's not easy to stop Jeremy Doku in his prime.

“We behaved very well. The second half was much better than the first.

“Doku is so important when teams play a low block. His decisions are becoming better and better.”

Doku has indeed been one of City’s bright sparks this term, providing three assists in his last three Premier League games – already surpassing his previous tally of two in 17 appearances.

Saturday’s victory also extended City’s dominance over Burnley, marking their 14th consecutive win against the Clarets in all competition – their joint fourth-longest winning run against any opponent.

Despite the loss, Burnley boss Scott Parker nonetheless sought to take positives from his side’s trip to the Etihad.

“Performance-wise, I was delighted with us for 60 to 70 minutes,” Parker told Sky Sports. “They showed every bit from what I wanted us from this game.

“We had to suffer at times, but we also needed to be brave and courageous today and showed our quality, we did that for a large part of it.

“Two goals come back to back that put a massive dent in us and the game goes away from us a bit.

“You can come to Man City and get beat comfortably, I've seen world-class teams have those problems.

“We take the positives from today and understand the moments we can improve, we keep going.”