Man City eases past Burnley

The performance showed signs that the holder may be able to keep its title race alive. The victory took Pep Guardiola’s side, which had drawn 2-2 at Newcastle United on Saturday, to 32 points after 15 fixtures. Jesus opened the scoring in the 24th minute and doubled City’s advantage five minutes after the break.

A spectacular drive from Rodri and a low drilled shot from substitute Riyad Mahrez made it four. The way the City players celebrated the win showed they knew they could ill-afford another slip-up. In recent weeks, City has looked well below the standards set in its two straight title campaigns.

This season, it has already dropped 13 points, only three short of its total for the whole of the last season. With only one win in its last five games in all competitions, the pressure on City was real but the gap in quality between the clubs was soon evident. The tourist began to move the ball around with the kind of confidence and precision that has been its hallmark under Guardiola and was soon ahead.

After a swift exchange of passes, David Silva threaded the ball to Jesus, who, filling in for the injured Sergio Aguero, curled a shot into the far corner. The lead could have been doubled two minutes before the interval. City broke and the counter ended with a Bernardo Silva drive, which keeper Nick Pope saved superbly.

The second goal came when Bernardo Silva curled a probing cross towards the back post and Jesus reacted quickly to volley the ball home. Jesus, who had not scored in his previous 10 games for club or country, went close to a third when he fizzed just wide of the far post. A blocked shot from David Silva then fell to Rodri on the edge of the box.

The Spanish midfielder blasted a thundering, unstoppable drive past Pope to make it three in the 68th minute. Mahrez got the fourth goal three minutes from the end with a low shot from the edge of the box before Robert Brady gave the muted home crowd some cheer. In the other fixture, 10-man Crystal Palace beat Bournemouth 1-0.