Manchester City can boast that he got through the season without Erlin Haaland, their great predator in the area, and crowned it with a comfortable victory over Burnley (3-1) without pitying Vincent Kompany, who returned after being a legend at the Etihad.
The game started with the Norwegian ‘cyborg’ on the bench after nearly two months, once he got over his foot stress injury that kept everyone uncertain about his return date. And sitting there, Haaland witnessed firsthand that Pep Guardiola was able to create a team that could succeed for a short time without its top scorer, even though it clearly needed him.
Julián Álvarez, who acted as a wild card for Kevin de Bruyne and then for Haaland, took advantage of the last opportunity to play as a starting striker spectacularly. City found Burnley too brave with their pressure and left them spaces to run into. That helped Mataheus Nunes stand out among his additions, managing one of the first to find the head of the ‘Spider’ to make the first on his own account (16′).
Guardiola dominated the game against his apprentice Kompany, with his Burnley unable to shoot until almost half an hour in the first instance and also paying for his mistakes in a perfectly rehearsed City game. It was from the laboratory of Carlos Vicens, Pep’s assistant and even recognized by the technician. De Bruyne puts the free kick in quickly and in space and Julián doesn’t fail in the one-on-one (22′).
It was undoubtedly too early to declare a winner, but things were looking very good and especially when, seconds into the second half, Rodri scored with a classic first-touch shot from the edge of the area to kill off the contest (46′).
EvenFrom there, the Etihad looked more to the bench than to the field, wanting to see Haaland in action. He called his name, was delighted when he came out to warm up and in the 71st minute he was seen in shorts again on the grass. This gave him time to have a pair, but left him wanting. His goals were also unnecessary against Burnley, who also did nothing in the second half apart from forgiving Amdouni for a very clear one-on-one with Ederson. It was stoppage time, and the result was hidden, Al-Dakhil took advantage of Fofana’s good play, with the help of Ederson, to score (93′).
match lineup
31
82
24
27
5
6
47
16
19
17
Eleven
1
22
28
16
2
18
7
8
25
17
47
Etihad Stadium
74′
James Trafford1
Vitinho22
Ameen Al Dakhil28
92′
Sander Berge16
Dara O’Shea2
Hjalmar Ekdal18
twenty
85′
76′
Jóhann Gudmundsson7
58′
Four. five’
86′
Josh Brownhill8
fifteen’
twenty-one’
86′
Zeki Amdouni25
58′
70′
Lyle Foster17
58′
80′
Wilson Odobert47
75′
Replacements
Arijanet Muric49
Connor Roberts14
58′
74′
Jack Cork4
86′
Aaron Ramseytwenty-one
58′
76′
Josh Cullen24
Han-Noah Massengo42
85′
86′
Anass Zaroury19
75′
David Datro Fofana23
58′
70′
Jacob Brun Larsen3. 4
coach
Pep Guardiola
Vincent Kompany
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
