Haaland feasts on battered Burnley in big City win
Manchester City cruised to a 5-1 win over Burnley at Etihad Stadium, with Maxime Esteve turning in two own-goals while Erling Haaland bagged a stoppage-time brace.
City took the lead after 12 minutes when Jeremy Doku's low shot at the near-post was parried by Martin Dubravka, only for Esteve to deflect into his own net as he tried to reach the rebound before an onrushing Phil Foden.
Pep Guardiola's side dominated possession but struggled to create many clear-cut chances, allowing Jaidon Anthony to draw level with a close-range finish that deflected off Ruben Dias seven minutes before the interval.
City came out sharper after the break, regaining its lead as Haaland teed up Matheus Nunes for a crashing volley with a smart header on the hour mark.
Esteve then turned into his own net once more just four minutes later, this time from a low Nunes cross chased by Oscar Bobb.
Haaland then ran riot over the Clarets' fatigued defence with two close-range finishes in the space of three stoppage-time minutes to seal a comfortable win for the Citizens.
The win sees City move up to fourth place on the table on 10 points, while Burnley remains just one point above the dropzone in 17th.
Haaland's two goals saw him become the highest scoring Norwegian in the history of the Premier League on 93 goals, surpassing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 91 goals.
The City forward has now scored eight league goals this season, including six in his past four matches – his longest hot streak since a run of five games between August and September 2024.
City boss Pep Guardiola hailed his side's solidarity after the match.
“It was really good, except maybe 10 to 15 minutes when we dropped our rhythm to play,” Guardiola said. “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.”
Despite the loss, Burnley boss Scott Parker sought to take positives from his side’s performance.
“Performance-wise, I was delighted with us for 60 to 70 minutes,” Parker said. “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.”
