Man City vs Burnley result: Five things we learned as Riyah Mahrez scores a hat-trick in lopsided win

Riyad Mahrez scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Burnley 5-0 at home.

The home side took the lead when Mahrez calmly slotted the ball into the corner after some slick passing, and the Algerian doubled his tally just over ten minutes later as he got to the byline, cut inside Ben Mee and caressed it into the net.

After City had a goal ruled out for offside, they added a third before half time when Benjamin Mendy volleyed in his first goal for the club.

In the second half, Burnley applied some pressure but were powerless to prevent a fourth goal as Ferran Torres steered in a tidy finish following some nice passing deep in the final third.

With 20 minutes remaining, Mahrez completed his first Manchester City hat-trick when he fired home from close range following Phil Foden’s cross, and they even had a sixth ruled out by VAR for offside. Here are five things we learned from the game at the Etihad Stadium:

Visitors’ game-plan goes out the window

Sean Dyche’s final comments to his team before kick-off would have been: “don’t concede the early goal.”

Of course, that is exactly what happened. Just over five minutes had been played when the usually-brilliant James Tarkowski gave away possession cheaply and allowed City to attack.

Ferran Torres played a declicate pass to Kevin De Bruyne, who then picked out Riyad Mahrez to sweep past the goalkeeper and into the net.

It was only the second time that Manchester City have scored in the opening 15 minutes this season, and it was a nightmare start for Burnley.

Mahrez burns Burnley again

It was a fine performance from the Algerian.

Mahrez netted a first half double – including a delightful solo goal – before notching a third to take his tally to seven goals in his last four appearances against the Clarets.

In fact, his total of eight goals against Sean Dyche’s men is the most he has scored against any single team in the top flight, surpassing his seven against Watford.

Trouble brewing for Burnley

It’s not looking good for Burnley in 2020/21.

After nine games, the Clarets find themselves in 17th place in the Premier League, just a single point away from the relegation zone.

They are tied for the third-worst goal difference in the league, and it is difficult to see how such a statistic will improve over the season.

Burnley struggled to get anything going offensively, and whilst it’s easy to say that this was at the Etihad Stadium, City haven’t been the best defensive side this season.

Aside from some pressure early in the second half, Burley did little and only registered one shot on target during the game.

City slickers

The passing football from Manchester City was mesmerising at times.

They finished with nearly 70% possession, but it was the speed of the passing and the play that showed City’s class.

Pep Guardiola’s side quickly swept forward for the opener, but there were some fantastic pass-and-move moments where City opened Burnley up with ease.

When they are on their game, Manchester City are difficult to stop and excellent to watch.

Do Manchester City need a striker?

With Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero out with injury and Gabriel Jesus only returning recently, there was a worry that City would struggle to find the net.

The first half alone proved that is not the case.

Riyad Mahrez was a constant threat and scored a hat-trick, while even Benjamin Mendy added a goal – his first for the club.

Ferran Torres scored with his last touch before being replaced by Foden, and if the Spaniard and the likes of De Bruyne stay in form, the goals will flow for City.

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