Manchester City v Burnley ratings: De Bruyne 8, Silva 8; Cornet 7, Cork 5

Guardiola's team ease to victory against Clarets who had lost last four trips to Etihad Stadium 5-0

MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Zack Steffen 7 – Stood up well against Cornet to keep the score at 1-0 and will be thankful for some of Burnley's finishing with Sean Dyche's side wasting a number of promising opportunities. Getty

Joao Cancelo 8 – Play down the right-hand side helped fashion some positive chances for City, including in the opening goal where Cancelo's link-up play with Silva forced Burnley to defend from their six-yard box. Unlucky not to score when latching onto De Bruyne's pass. EPA

John Stones 6 – The England centre-back didn't stand out and that's normally a good thing for defenders. Stones took a risk in the first half with a heavy challenge where he won the ball, but it was a matter of keeping shape and beating Burnley's attack to second balls on the day. AP

Aymeric Laporte 5 – A poor challenge on Dwight McNeil saw the centre-back booked with a tackle that could have been given a red. Could have scored in the second half but scooped the ball over the bar. AP

Nathan Ake 6 – Ake got forward from the left-hand side and kept things simple. The former Bournemouth star also handled Dwight McNeil well throughout, not allowing Burnley's dangerman to have time on the ball. EPA

Rodri 6 – Got the ball quickly into City's creative players to transition play quickly and looked calm in Burnley’s best spells. Reuters

Bernardo Silva 8 – The Portugal international reacted quickest to Phil Foden's shot that was parried out by Pope. A standout performer on the day alongside his compatriot Cancelo; confident on the ball, and a constant threat for the opposition. EPA

Kevin De Bruyne 8 – De Bruyne kept the play ticking and chose his moments to unlock the Burnley defence. The midfielder looked like he had the ball on a string at times, and picked up a goal in the process. EPA

Riyad Mahrez 6 – The crowd thought Mahrez was certain to score as he was picked out in acres at the backpost, but the finish was tame into the goalkeeper's hands. The Algeria international didn't have his shooting boots on today. AFP

Phil Foden 7 – Foden's effort asked a question of Nick Pope and the goalkeeper could only parry it out into a waiting Silva. AP

Raheem Sterling 6 – Didn't get much of the ball in the first half and looked to keep it simple when in possession. Underwhelming by the winger's standards. AFP

SUBS: Ruben Dias (Laporte, 73) N/A – On for Laporte who was playing with a yellow card. PA

Fernandinho (De Bruyne, 84) N/A – On for the second goalscorer to see out the remainder of the game. Reuters

Cole Palmer (Silva, 90) - Introduced for the final minutes of the game. PA

BURNLEY RATINGS: Nick Pope 6 – The Burnley goalkeeper has to do better on the opening goal that he parried perilously inside the six-yard box. Pope responded well after the error and was impressive when called upon to deal with danger. PA

Erik Pieters 5 – The left-back could have used some help at the Etihad Stadium, with the defender often facing two players to deal with after the ball was switched from the opposite side. A tough day, but Burnley's defensive tactics are partly to blame. PA

James Tarkowski 7 – Settled down after the opening 15 minutes where the visitors were under the cosh from Pep Guardiola's side. Dominant in the air. EPA

Bernardo Silva of Manchester City (L) and Nathan Collins of Burnley (R) in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Burnley in Manchester, Britain, 16 October 2021. E EPA/PETER POWELL EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club / league / player publications

Matt Lowton 5 – A tough day at the office for both Burnley fullbacks as Manchester City looked to overload the wings and play intricate football in the spaces. Almost picked up an assist with a good ball at the backpost, but Barnes couldn't get a foot to it. Getty

Dwight McNeil 5 – Not as effective as normal as McNeil struggled to make anything happen. Outnumbered when on the ball. AP

Ashley Westwood 6 – Looked good in spells where the midfielder displayed his passing range but the midfielder was slow to clear his lines, allowing Kevin De Bruyne to double the lead. AP

Jack Cork 5 – Replaced in the 56th minute after finding it hard to get going. The Burnley midfielder's passing range wasn't there while struggling to make plays on defence. Reuters

Josh Brownhill 6 – It's not easy to create chances at the Etihad which means the midfielder has to do better with his shot that was placed wide of the goal – at least hit the target. AFP

Maxwel Cornet 7 – Should have scored with Burnley's biggest chance of the first half but got the finish all wrong with just the goalkeeper to beat. EPA

Chris Wood 6 – Struggled for service but that is expected when taking on a Pep Guardiola side at the Etihad Stadium. Better when paired with Ashley Barnes in the second half. Getty

SUBS: Ashley Barnes (Cornet, 56) 6 – Could have scored right away but the shot looked more like a backpass than an effort at goal. AFP

Joey Gudmundsson (Cork, 72) N/A – Added extra flair to Sean Dyche's side but the game looked over after the second goal. PA

Jay Rodriguez (Wood, 82) N/A – On for Wood to try and spark a comeback but didn't have enough time to trouble the City defence. PA

Adam Brown

Oct 17, 2021

Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne scored as Manchester City easily defeated Burnley again, this time 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

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It was not the most efficient display by Pep Guardiola's side against winless opponents, but they did enough.

"After the international break it’s always a little bit difficult to come to a rhythm and I know how good Burnley are. They did really well, they have good players," Guardiola said.

"We did well in the second half and played really well and could’ve scored more goals. Good result, after the international break we take the victory and look what’s next."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche was pleased with the result, as his team's previous four visits to the Etihad Stadium had ended in 5-0 defeats.

"We get nothing from the game but I was actually pleased with the performance against a top side," Dyche said.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above.

Updated: October 17, 2021, 2:34 AM