City go top with narrow victory over Burnley | OneFootball

City have gone top of the Premier League after a 1-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor.

The winning goal came after just five minutes with Erling Haaland grabbing his 35th goal of the campaign, but despite numerous opportunities, the Blues had to settle for a narrow, but thoroughly deserved win.

The Clarets are relegated as a result while City climb to the summit to end Arsenal’s 200 day-stint at the top.

The Game in 250 words

City fairly flew out of the blocks, brimming with confidence and creativity after the weekend win over Arsenal.

With only four minutes played, a lovely move involving Bernardo, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki saw the latter fire what seemed a certain shot goalwards only for Martin Dubravka to push his effort onto the crossbar.

A minute later and the Blues were ahead after a wonderful turn and threaded pass from Jeremy Doku set Haaland clear and the Norwegian kept his cool to calmly lift the ball over Dubravka to reward a whirlwind start.

But the alarm bells were ringing on seven minutes when Quilindschy Hartman looked certain to equalise with the Clarets exploiting space in the City box, but a fine, last-ditch Abdukodir Khusanov block saved the day.

The Blues were bossing the majority of possession, but too many loose passes saw attacks fizzle out and the next big chance fell for Zian Flemming who wasted a good opportunity by screwing his shot well wide.

The pattern continued after the break, with City dominating but unable to find the net.

A powerful burst from Semenyo saw the ball fall to Haaland 15 yards out and his low shot kissed the outside of the left post before the hour-mark.

A second goal felt crucial for the Blues.

On 69, a nice interchange between Cherki and Marc Guéhi ended with a low cross that Haaland was a whisker away from connecting with from six yards out.

Nico O’Reilly had a terrific chance to end the game as a contest in the closing minutes from a few yards out, but City saw the game out and ultimately got the job done.

Teams

BURNLEY:  Dubravka, Walker, Ekdal, Laurent (Edwards 87), Estève, Hartman; Humphreys (Florentino 82), Tchaouna (Foster 71), Ward-Prowse; Anthony (Tresor 87), Flemming (Broja 82)

Subs: Weiss, Worrall, Ugochukwu, Pires.

CITY: Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guéhi, Ait-Nouri ((Nico 65),, Bernardo,  O’Reilly, Semenyo (Savinho) 65), Cherki, Doku, Haaland

Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Aké, Marmoush, Kovacic, Foden

View full table

Star Man

Abdukodir Khusanov again showed maturity beyond his years with another flawless display.

His superb block early in the first-half kept the scores level and he continues to grow in confidence and look more polished with each passing game.

WINNING ALL THAT MATTERS

It was far from our best performance of the season and that is surely down to Sunday’s monumental effort against Arsenal.

The energy expended in that game seemed to have left the Blues a bit leggy and nowhere near the sharp levels of the past month.

But the victory, however narrow, is all that matters right now.

If goal difference does come into play later in this title race, that can be dealt with accordingly!

Pep reaction

“The chances were there. We made a fantastic game. We did everything after a demanding game three days ago.

“We made a really good goal, but yeah we missed some chances.

“There is no frustration. Why should there be? We won three points and we’re top of the league.

“The guys did absolutely everything. Nothing is for granted. We’re there and we did really well.

“We made a better performance[than the Arsenal game] in terms of chances than we did on Sunday. The performance itself was really good.

“Five more games. That’s the reality. Now we have a semi-final on Saturday and after that we’ll prepare the next games.”

Haaland reaction

“We had a lot of chances but I’m happy, we won and that’s the most important thing. Anything else, don’t think [about it]. Just try to win.

“It’s all about winning, no matter how. We try to play our football, and we just try to win, that’s what you need in your mindset. And now focus on Saturday.

“Don’t think about goals, think about winning.

“[This month] has been good so far. Keep going and try to win on Saturday  against Southampton and then Everton.

“I’m super happy we won and we got three points. We’re top of the league so be happy!”

What it means...

City go top of the Premier League for the first time since August.

The Blues are now level on points with Arsenal, and both teams have a goal difference of +37 - but we have scored more goals and so head the table.

It couldn’t be much closer.

What’s next?

City take a breather from this relentless Premier League title race by taking on Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final.

The Blues are chasing a fourth successive FA Cup final against the in-form Championship side in a game that will be played at Wembley on Saturday, 25 April with a 17:15 kick-off.

The winners will face Chelsea or Leeds United in the final.

Be at City’s FA Cup semi-final!

Pep Guardiola’s brilliant Blues are on the hunt for yet more silverware under Wembley’s famous arch.

We return to the national stadium on Saturday 25 April in a 17:15 (UK) kick-off for our FA Cup semi-final with Southampton.

And Members can be there with prices starting from £30 for adults and £20 for U18s and over 65s.

As we’ve seen with other recent Wembley visits, it’s an occasion not to be missed!

Get your tickets now!

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