midfielder Riyad Mahrez celebrates after scoring his third goal,
their fifth during the English Premier League football match
between Manchester City and Burnley at the Etihad Stadium in
Manchester, north west England, on November 28, 2020. Michael Regan
/ POOL / AFP
Manchester City found their shooting boots as Riyad
Mahrez scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 thrashing of Burnley to bounce
back to winning ways in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola’s men had scored just seven goals in their
previous seven league games to slip to 14th in the table before
kick-off.
But for the fourth straight visit to the Etihad, Burnley
conceded five times as City eased to within six points of league
leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.
Mahrez was one of four changes Guardiola made from a 1-0 win at
Olympiakos in midweek that booked City’s place in the last 16 of
the Champions League, and took the most of his chance to start with
Raheem Sterling left on the bench.
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The Algerian opened the floodgates on six minutes as he swept
home Kevin De Bruyne’s pass.
Mahrez then outwitted a sleeping Burnley defence as he latched
onto Kyle Walker’s throw-in before dancing round three challenges
and firing on off the far post.
De Bruyne was handed a rare rest in midweek and the Belgian was
back to his best with another assist for Benjamin Mendy to score
his first City goal over three years since arriving from
Monaco.
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The French left-back produced an exquisite finish by cushioning
De Bruyne’s cross back across Bailey Peacock-Farrell, who had a
Premier League debut to forget in the absence of England
international Nick Pope.
After City’s struggles to score goals in recent weeks, the hosts
made sure to cash in after the break rather than saving their
energies for a hectic upcoming schedule.
Ferran Torres has been prolific in the Champions League since
his signing from Valencia, but the Spanish international finally
opened his Premier League account with a smart finish from Gabriel
Jesus’s lay-off.
Torres was then replaced by Phil Foden and with his first touch
Foden was the provider for Mahrez to complete his hat-trick in
uncharacteristic fashion with a bullet header at the back post.
VAR came to Peacock-Farrell’s rescue after he turned the ball
into his own net after a fine save to deny Jesus, with the goal
ruled out for offside against the Brazilian striker, before De
Bruyne smashed against the post late on.
However, five goals were enough for Guardiola’s men to send out
the message they are not out of a wide-open title race, especially
with a favourable run of fixtures to come as Fulham, West Brom and
Newcastle will also visit the Etihad before Boxing Day.
AFP
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