Man City Player Ratings vs. Burnley: Awkward Win Puts Citizens Top of Title Race

Burnley was relegated as a result of Wednesday’s battle.

Erling Haaland played the hero on Wednesday. | James Gill-Danehouse/Getty Images

Manchester City defeated Burnley 1–0 on Wednesday at Turf Moor to claim the top spot in the Premier League all thanks to Erling Haaland’s fifth-minute goal.

Jérémy Doku created match-winner, settling a bouncing ball at the halfway line before firing it off to Haaland, who had split the center backs and was off to the races. One-on-one with Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka, the No. 9 made a cheeky chip to side netting, scoring his fifth goal in his last four appearances.

The Citizens continued to pound on the door, explosive in the final third for 13 shots in the first half alone, but couldn’t find another goal even though they could have been up 4–0 by halftime. Burnley, meanwhile, weren’t invisible, creating five critical opportunities for themselves on the left flank, often taking advantage of an overwhelmed and disconnected Matheus Nunes.

Although Man City did better to clean up the defensive disorganization in the second half, they appeared even more casual offensively, unable to bury any of their 15 shots and ending the game having had just three big chances compared to Burnley’s two.

Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola’s men still collected three points to not only go top of the table, but also capitalize on the electrifying energy of the 2–1 win over Arsenal over the weekend, creating even more momentum heading into the FA Cup semifinals against Southampton on Saturday.

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One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Man City struggled to find the back of the net. | MB Media/Getty Images

City should have turned the lights off by halftime, yet it was only 1–0 heading into the break, and they added little in the second half. They may have been surgical in routinely breaking down Burnley’s lines and getting into the box—putting together some truly masterful sequences in the final third—but they were wasteful when it came to actually finding the back of the net. They had 13 shots in the first half, yet only six were on target and one went in. They ended with 28, only nine on target.

Sure, Burnley goalkeeper Dúbravka put on a heroic show, but one could argue that Man City did the most to make him look the superhero. All the offensive prowess in the world means nothing if it can’t translate into goals, especially when the visitors could have boosted their goal differential going against a side that is now officially relegated.

The Citizens may now lead the title race, but you’d expect that leader to demolish a team not even crossing that finish line. They will need to return to goalscoring ways in their remaining five league matches, especially against fourth-place Aston Villa in the last game of the season, if they hope to win out.

On the other end of the pitch, City’s backline was extremely porous, especially on the right side in the first half, allowing Burnley five legitimate opportunities, a high number considering the little time the Clarets actually spent on the ball. The hosts easily could have equalized if not for a solid outing from Gianluigi Donnarumma.

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Man City Player Ratings vs. Burnley (4-2-3-1)

Jérémy Doku was explosive throughout the final third | Lee Parker - CameraSport via Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma—7.8: Did everything he needed to do, despite facing more shots than he should have on Wednesday.

RB: Matheus Nunes—7.8: Burned twice on his side by Burnley within the first six minutes, giving the hosts two early opportunities on frame. Completely disconnected from Abdukodir Khusanov.

CB: Abdukodir Khusanov—8.1: Hard to blame him for Nunes’s shortcomings, but his side was the only source of respite for Burnley for a reason. Did have a key, sliding recovery on a dangerous breakaway in the 30th minute.

CB: Marc Guéhi—7.5: Did well to recover from the discombobulation of Nunes and Khusanov.

LB: Rayan Aït-Nouri—7.4: Solid performance on the left side. Completely closed off that channel for Loum Tchaouna.

CM: Nico O’Reilly—7.2: Enjoyed a rare start, but was the key to building the attack and maintaining a steady, yet relentless tempo.

CM: Bernardo Silva—8.6: Brilliant connections with Doku all night long. Solid as always.

RM: Antoine Semenyo—6.8: Explosive and strategic with his runs off the ball. Key to getting them in the final third. Burned Quilindschy Hartman and Maxime Estève all night, often at the same time.

AM: Rayan Cherki—8.5: Pushed extremely high in attack, creating constant pressure in the final third in partnership with Haaland to overwhelm the center backs. Created four opportunities within the first 25 minutes. Simultaneously patient on the ball.

LM: Jérémy Doku—8.2: Responsible for the creation of Haaland’s early goal. Controlled a bouncing ball at the midline before sending the striker off to the races. Incredibly challenging for Burnley to track all over the final third.

ST: Erling Haaland—8.3: Had a brilliant run to go one-on-one with Dúbravka and chipped the ball to side netting for his 23rd league goal of the season. Stellar.

SUB: Savinho (65’ for Semenyo)—6.7: Had a brilliant opportunity in the 70th minute, saved by Dúbravka’s right leg. At least it earned a corner.

SUB: Nico González (65’ for Aït-Nouri)—7.0: Nearly scored a second for his side in the 85th minute, firing a shot from outside of the box that went just wide.

Subs not used: James Trafford (GK), John Stones, Nathan Aké, Mateo Kovacic, Phil Foden, Tijjani Reijnders, Omar Marmoush.

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What the Ratings Tell Us

Erling Haaland was the difference-maker for Man City on Wednesday. | Lee Parker - CameraSport via Getty Images

• Erling Haaland wasn’t afraid to move. The Norwegian star is often known for hanging around the box, just waiting for an opportunity; however, he showed his prowess and speed on the run Wednesday night, another layer to his immense talent.
• Matheus Nunes’s discomfort was obvious. The box-to-box midfielder-turned-fullback looked unconfident in his defensive capabilities, often leaving too much space between himself and the attacker in the final third, which was exploited time and time again.
• Gianluigi Donnarumma played better than he should have needed to. The backline was too easily broken down; luckily, Donnarumma had a solid affair.

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The Numbers That Explain Man City’s Critical Win

Man City will only care that they left Turf Moor with three points. | James Gill-Danehouse/Getty Images

• Man City fumbled in front of the goal. They had 28 shots to Burnley’s nine, yet both sides had the same number of big chances: two. They need to be more disciplined in front of the frame.
• The visitors were too casual in the box. They worked hard to get into the final third and then settled for a corner kick—of which they had 11 to Burnley’s three—despite trying to take a more clinical strike. In a similar vein, Man City need to be more aggressive on their corner kicks.
• The Citizens accuracy was stellar, improving on their 85% accuracy against Arsenal over the weekend to 90% on Wednesday.

Statistic	Man City	Burnley
Possession	65%	35%
Expected Goals (xG)	3.15	0.57
Total Shots	28	9
Shots on Target	9	1
Big Chances	3	2
Pass Accuracy	90%	79%
Fouls Committed	12	10
Corners	11	3

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