Manchester City 5 - 0 Burnley: The Phil Foden Show

  

    Manchester city put Burnley to the sword in a comprehensive 5-0 victory. Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez helped themselves to braces here and a strike from David Silva continuing their perfect record since the return of the Premier League. Here are 5 things we learned from the tie at the Etihad.

• The Phil Foden Show

    Phil Foden is one player that city fans rate highly and games like the one on Monday gives you a full glimpse as to why. He started the game out wide in attack alongside Agüero and Mahrez, although it’s not his most comfortable position on the pitch, he put in a Man of the Match display from there. He broke the deadlock with a well placed effort from the edge of the Burnley box that beat Nick pope in goal. He was the main instigator for city’s fourth with his well timed disguised pass into the path of Bernardo Silva who crossed for David Silva who put it in the back of the net. He also scored his second of the game via a tap in from close range after lovely ball from Bernardo that made contact with Jesus’s foot. Many more great things are expected of the man earmarked to be David Silva’s replacement by Pep Guardiola himself “We don’t need to spend a pound to replace David Silva. We have Phil Foden on that position.”

•  Riyad Mahrez's mesmerizing display
  

    Riyad Mahrez has delighted the city faithful with his string of outstanding performances throughout the season. On Monday night he didn’t disappoint, he was simply mesmerizing with his touches, twists, turns and he had the Burnley left side dancing to his tunes. He opened his account for the night after a great ball from Fernandinho; he turned Charlie Taylor inside out before hitting a powerful shot with his weaker foot that beat Nick Pope. He dispatched a penalty to double his tally for the night and he was withdrawn after an hour of play amidst fear of a knock.

• Aguero’s injury is a worrying concern

     The sight of Sergio Aguero staying down on the turf after a tackle from Ben Mee is a worrying concern for Manchester City. Early reports indicate he has suffered an injury to the meniscus in his left knee and will undergo a surgery in Barcelona on Friday. The impact of this to Manchester city’s assault on the remaining cup competitions still up for grabs could be telling. Agüero is the man for the big games and he lives for those decisive moments, his unavailability could prove decisive in their hunt for the illusive Champions League title. 

• Manchester's city squad depth advantage
  

     Imagine being Sean Dyche 5 nil down and you look across over to see Laporte and Kevin De Bruyne getting ready to enter the fray, that’s just how much fire power city have in their arsenal. Manchester City made 8 changes comprising of a whole new back-line to the team that beat Arsenal, the fact that they dispatched Burnley without much fuss shows you the sheer quality in depth they possess. The bench for this game was made up of superstars and the fact that managers now have the luxury of 5 substitutions just plays into Pep Guardiola’s hand perfectly. Leroy Sane also made his long-awaited return to the Premier league with a 10 minutes cameo.

• Burnley’s squad problems and the fight against racism
  

     Burnley’s team sheet was a cause of worry for Sean Dyche on Monday night. While his counterpart had an array of stars to select from he was restricted in his selections due to injuries and contract issues at the club. Burnley are safe from the relegation zone but if they plan on consolidating one of the Europa league places they need to sort out this issues and fast. There was also an issue of controversy at the beginning of the game with a banner which carried the words "WHITE LIVES MATTER BURNLEY". Burnley have since condemned the act and disassociated themselves from those responsible. This just shows how deeply rooted  racism is and how alive it is in our modern complementary world.

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