Manchester City 2 Burnley 1
City: Clichy (58'), Aguero (62') | Red card: Fernandinho (32')
Burnley: Mee (70')
Man of the Match: Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City)
This particular Pep talk was laced with sarcasm, underpinned by a sense of injustice, underlining his annoyance with officials. Wins forged in adversity tend to lend themselves to greater satisfaction. Not this. Pep Guardiola was at his tetchiest.
He was upset about the award of Burnley’s goal. Manchester City’s fans were vocal in their displeasure about referee Lee Mason’s performance. But they still prevailed, in a triumph forged by skill and spirit alike.
“After a game in Anfield two days ago, [to play with] 10 men for 60 minutes, we showed resilience,” said Guardiola, in a rare moment of levity.
• Round-up: Two Defoe penalties give Sunderland draw with Liverpool
Two goals in five minutes transformed a frustrating occasion into a valuable victory. A late rearguard action, in which Aleksandar Kolarov performed valiantly, succeeded. Guardiola was vindicated for his brave half-time double substitution, when he brought on David Silva and the eventual match-winner Sergio Aguero, though the Catalan mockingly referred to the initial omissions of the rested duo as “a big mistake.” They ensured the contentious but correct dismissal of Fernandinho did not cost City.
The Brazilian was expelled for the third time in six games for a scything challenge on Johann Berg Gudmundsson. Both feet left the ground as he jumped in; Fernandinho’s punishment is a ban that includes two games against West Ham, plus Premier League clashes with Everton and Tottenham. He is a serial culprit and this was City’s seventh red-card offence of the season.
“We had a lot of disciplinary problems,” admitted Guardiola.
His explanation was obtuse: “We are the team with the most ball possession.”
City were further irritated when their former old boy Ben Mee smashed in the rebound after Nicolas Otamendi had cleared off the line. They felt Sam Vokes had impeded Claudio Bravo, though this was further evidence of the Chilean’s struggles in a crowded penalty box.
“It was a fault on Claudio Bravo,” insisted Guardiola, after his goalkeeper flapped unconvincingly. “All around the world our keeper in the box is fouled, here [he is] not. I have to understand that.”
“It is just a goal,” countered the Burnley manager, Sean Dyche. “It is an honest challenge.”
He was more concerned with the aftermath when Bacary Sagna kicked out at George Boyd as the winger retrieved the ball from the net. “It is a sending off because he swipes at Boydy,” he said.
Sandwiching the flashpoints came goals procured by irregular and regular scorers. It is an understatement to say Clichy is not prolific. His previous 448 appearances for Arsenal and City had produced just four goals. Despite spending a career on the left flank, he is right-footed, as he demonstrated when he cut inside to find the bottom corner of Tom Heaton’s net with a shot of unerring accuracy.
Then came a redemptive moment for Aguero, his first goal since his sending off against Chelsea and, indeed, since a November brace against Burnley, who must lament his predatory powers. Aguero’s finish was extraordinary: not merely because of the power applied to a shot from an acute angle but because both Michael Keane was on the line and he found the only gap between the defender and the post. He had latched on to the loose ball after Tom Heaton had foiled Raheem Sterling.
Heaton had excelled from the start, making a fine double save from Kelechi Iheanacho and Sterling. Yet that was demoted to a subplot by controversy and commentary. Guardiola had already said: “I am arriving at the end of my coaching career.” He then sounded world-weary as he suggested footballing forces were colluding against him. But neither officials nor Burnley could prevent City from returning to the top four.
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