Manchester City vs Burnley: Five things we learned as Sergio Aguero double keeps quadruple hopes alive
The Argentine scored twice in 93 seconds as City came from behind to win 4-1 against the Clarets
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Your support makes all the difference.The quadruple is still very much on for Manchester City as they came from behind to beat Burnley 4-1 in the FA Cup third round.
Sean Dyche's bullish Clarets led 1-0 at half-time after John Stones' error let in Ashley Barnes and the target man slammed it past Bravo in the City goal.
But Sergio Aguero turned things around quickly in the second half, scoring two goals in 93 seconds, both from superb Ilkay Gundogan assists.
Leroy Sane and Bernado Silva added two more as a rampant home side ran out comfortable winners. Here are five things we learned from the Etihad.
David's appearance is the Silva lining
Pep Guardiola wasn't sure if David Silva would play against Burnley with the Spaniard having revealed that his absence over Christmas was due to his son Mateo being born early.
The City boss claimed Silva could return to Spain on compassionate leave to be with his partner Yessica Suarez Gonzalez and young son but he started against Burnley and after a quiet first half, helped lead the City revival.
He set up Leroy Sane for the third goal and received a minutes' applause from City fans in the 21st minute as they showed their support for the midfielder and his family.
Aguero to the rescue
It wasn't long ago that it looked like Sergio Aguero's time at Manchester City was coming to an end. Guardiola seemed to prefer Gabriel Jesus and a move away from the Etihad seemed very much on the cards.
But Jesus' injury picked up at Crystal Palace on New Year's Eve means Pep needs Aguero more than ever and City's all-time top scorer showed he can still deliver when they need the goods with two well-taken goals.
The second in particular rounded off a beautiful move that he started, playing a one-two with Gundogan and rounding Nick Pope to slot home. It was like he's never been away.
John Stones still needs work
Remember when everyone thought John Stones was a complete waste of £50m as he made error after error in his early days at Manchester City? And then everyone started to realise that Pep Guardiola might actually know what he's doing as Stone grew and grew in confidence?
Well, this was like going back in time 18 months as Stones had a shaky afternoon and make a huge mistake that led to the opening goal; slicing a clearance that allowed Ashley Barnes to steam through and first Burnley into a shock lead.
The presence of Bravo in the City goal may have had something to do with it and it was only Stones' second game back after six weeks out injured, but it was an indication that Pep's work on Stones isn't finished yet.
It's a squad game
Guardiola made four changes for the visit of of the Clarets but after including the likes of Silva, Otamendi, Sane and Aguero it's clear the City boss is happy to try and add the FA Cup to his list of potential trophies this season.
But it was two less high-profile players who had the most impact. Ilkay Gundogan was one of the four changes - coming in for Kevin de Bruyne - and he shone in midfield, setting up both of Aguero's goals; the second with a particularly superb back-heel on the edge of the box and the first a quickly-taken free-kick.
Meanwhile, young Ukrainian midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko was given just his third ever start for the Citizens and didn't look out of place, seeing plenty of the ball in the middle of the park.
Maybe, just maybe, Pep has the squad possible for an unprecedented quadruple.
Burnley continue to impress
For nearly an hour it looked like Burnley were going to do it again and cause another upset in Manchester after nearly escaping from Old Trafford with all three points two weeks ago.
Yes, they had to play most of the first half without the ball but they were organised and confident and took the lead through a superb Barnes half-volley.
As expected, City's dominance came through in the second half although it still took some quick thinking from Gundogen and Aguero to break the Clarets' resistance.
Whatever Sean Dyche is doing at Turf Moor is still working as we roll into 2018.
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