MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - MANCHESTER CITY 3-1 BURNLEY

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A birthday brace from Julian Alvarez helped Manchester City to a comfortable victory over relegation fighting Burnley, with Kevin de Bruyne starting his first game since the reverse fixture and Erling Haaland making his first appearance in nearly two months after their respective injuries.

In their first Premier League game at the Etihad in 2024, City looked comfortable in the game right from the very start. Despite a few changes to the lineup, which saw the likes of Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic rested, City remained at their fully functioning best, as they kept the ball and moved it around well under pressure.

Burnley were containing City with their deep block and tenacious pressing in midfield, but there were spaces for the Blues to drive into, particularly in midfield and on the left hand side. Jeremy Doku looked arguably like City's most dangerous threat in the early stages, as he beat the Burnley right back Vitinho on the outside on a few occasions with his acceleration, but he was unable to make anything of his opportunities.

City broke the deadlock thanks to a direct first time through ball from Phil Foden on the right hand side after fine work from Josko Gvardiol carrying the ball through midfield. Foden's clipped pass found Matheus Nunes running into space, who attempted to cut the ball back across goal. His pass was intercepted, but the Portuguese international was able to clip the ball back into the middle towards Alvarez, who nodded the ball past James Trafford and in for his fourteenth goal of the season.

Goal number fifteen game shortly after for Alvarez, who pounced on a through ball from De Bruyne following a cleverly taken free kick and slotted the ball home to double the lead. City had a few more half chances after positive runs through midfield from Doku, Nunes and Rodri, but a poor final pass gave the ball away at the decisive moment on all of those occasions.

City went into the break perhaps disappointed to have not really threatened to have added any chances on top of their two goal lead, but they set that right very quickly after the break, as Rodri slotted the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to seal the game after just 26 seconds of second half action.

The Blues barely threatened again after this point, as they moved the ball around the pitch tiring out the pressing Burnley midfielders. City remained wise to the Clarets' threat on the counter attack, and were able to take De Bruyne off the pitch without any aggravation to his injury.

The Belgian midfielder was replaced by Haaland, who unsurprisingly had a limited impact on the game as City closed the game out with short passes. He had one half opportunity after charging through on a chipped through ball from Rodri, but after good initial defensive play to halt him in his tracks, he ended up scuffing his final effort, much to the amusement of Kovacic and Bernardo on the City bench.

The only real blot in the entire game came right at the very end, as Ameen Al-Dakhil scored from close range after excellent work from David Datro Fofana to beat Gvardiol down Burnley's right flank and deliver a low cross.

But other than that, it was more or less a perfect game for City. Yes, they could've scored more goals and created more chances, but they managed the game well and came out with a convincing victory after a comfortable evening.

With a fully fit squad at his disposal, Guardiola will lead his side into Brentford away - a tough game for any team - with the confidence that his team has what it takes to overcome the Bees and claim three vital points in their title challenge.

Here are the player ratings for the victory against Burnley:

Ederson - 6.5/10 - Very little to do. Couldn't have stopped the goal, and it was refreshing to see him stick up for Rico Lewis when he was confronted by Connor Roberts from Burnley.

Lewis - 6.5/10 - Popped up in some nice positions and passed the ball well. Struggled defensively against the pace and power of Lyle Foster and Wilson Odobert on a handful of occasions, but was solid on the most part.

Stones - 7/10 - Well disciplined at the back. Won plenty of aerial duels, and stepped forwards either into midfield or out wide almost like a full back to offer City support up the pitch.

Ake - 7.5/10 - Had plenty of touches of the ball, and passed it out from the back well. He looked completely unflappable when tested by Burnley's forwards, in what was yet another excellent performance from the Dutchman.

Gvardiol - 6.5/10 - Bold in possession, which paid off for City as he played a crucial role in City's first goal. But he was beaten too easily down the left hand side for Burnley's goal, which somewhat puts a dampener on what was a good overall performance from the 22 year old.

Rodri - 8.5/10 - Buzzed around the centre of the park, dominating the game by getting on the ball frequently and distributing it to his teammates. Took his goal nicely from the edge of the box, in a game in which he excelled in having a bit more freedom to roam forwards.

De Bruyne - 8/10 - After a slightly rusty cameo against Spurs, this De Bruyne performance was much more reminiscent of his games against Newcastle and Huddersfield. He took the ball in space in midfield and drove with it just as well as he did before his injury, and showed great ingenuity to find the pass for Alvarez's second goal.

Nunes - 7/10 - To a point, Nunes was magnificent. He took the ball and carried it into space menacingly on more than a few occasions, but his final ball let him down all too often. Whilst he did have a good game, and shows plenty of potential to be a good player for City in the future, he has areas of his game to work on, and didn't deserve the man of the match award ahead of the likes of Rodri, Alvarez and De Bruyne in my opinion.

Foden - 7/10 - Sharp when he had the ball in wide areas, and had a hand in the first and third goals. Showed that he doesn't need to play in the middle to have a high level positive impact on the team, which is refreshing to see with De Bruyne's return to fitness.

Alvarez - 8/10 - Led the line well, and took both of his two goals well with composed finishes. Ran his socks off up front as usual, and dropped deep to link play. De Bruyne and Haaland are both back and firing now, which will likely see a hit to Alvarez's game time. He has put in an unbelievable shift in their absences, and has proven himself to be more than capable of starting big games for City as either the striker of the number 10 in either of their absences.

Doku - 6.5/10 - Had a very similar game to Nunes, in the sense he looked excellent dribbling with the ball between the lines and at the heart of the defence, but his final action left a lot to be desired. But, like Nunes, he has plenty of opportunity to improve that element of his game under the coaching of Guardiola and surrounded by world class footballers on the training pitch.

Substitutes:

Haaland - 6.5/10 - Barely had a kick off the bench, but occupied defenders in City's effort to keep the ball. Was very obviously rusty when presented with his one chance in front of goal, but this will all improve with time, and it wouldn't be at all shocking to see him start and score against Brentford on Monday night.

Grealish - 6.5/10 - Held onto the ball well under pressure a few times, but didn't have much time or opportunity to do anything else.

Kovacic - Not enough time to make an impact.

Gomez - Not enough time to make an impact.