Manchester City may have to cope without Kevin De Bruyne for a significant period, as he experienced a recurrence of a hamstring injury during the defending champions’ successful start to the Premier League season, with a convincing 3-0 victory over Burnley yesterday.
Erling Haaland’s double strike, followed by Rodri’s goal, set the stage for City’s pursuit of an unprecedented fourth consecutive English top-flight title.
However, Pep Guardiola’s team was overshadowed by the sight of De Bruyne departing the field with a limp midway through the first half. This was a setback for the Belgian, who had previously suffered a hamstring tear during City’s Champions League final win against Inter Milan just two months earlier.
Guardiola showed his disappointment, stating, “He was injured again unfortunately, same place and position as the Champions League, and he will be out for a while. It depends on the magnitude but will be a few weeks out. He has to free his mind and relax because he came back from that position before, and he will be back now.”
While Burnley’s 2022/23 season concluded over a month ahead of City’s European Cup triumph in Istanbul, Guardiola has voiced concerns about his team’s brief pre-season in comparison to their rivals. Nonetheless, City displayed an impressive start to the season.
“We are still not in our best physical form, but we have to try to avoid dropping many points in this period,” added Guardiola. “It’s a matter of mentality, and we were fortunate to break the game open early. Many teams will struggle here, which is why I am so pleased.”
Haaland, who played a key role in City’s treble-winning campaign last season with an astonishing 52 goals in his first year at the club, wasted no time in continuing his scoring spree. Just over three minutes into the new season, he netted a goal by expertly converting Rodri’s header across the goal, a result of a well-executed corner involving De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and Phil Foden.
Vincent Kompany, the Burnley boss, boasts a statue outside City’s Etihad Stadium to commemorate his illustrious playing career with the English champions. Having successfully led Burnley back to the Premier League and transformed their playing style during his inaugural season in charge, Kompany has left a significant mark.
Despite the final scoreline, Burnley demonstrated resilience and were far from being outplayed. However, their lack of a clinical finisher like Haaland proved costly. Missed opportunities from Luca Koleosho and Zeki Amdouni, along with an unsuccessful penalty appeal by Amdouni, prevented Burnley from leveling the score.
A crucial moment occurred when Julian Alvarez skillfully directed Kyle Walker’s cross to Haaland, who unleashed an unstoppable shot off the underside of the crossbar nine minutes before half-time, dealing a blow to Burnley’s momentum.
In the second half, City tightened their grip on the game, even though they never reached their peak performance. Rodri, the unexpected hero from Istanbul two months ago, continued his goal-scoring streak by netting from close range after a goalmouth scramble.
Burnley’s frustrating night culminated in stoppage time when Anass Zaroury received a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Walker.
