Rodri comes of age
This was the night Pep Guardiola and his record signing have been waiting for. Whisper it quietly, but at Turf Moor Rodri looked like he belonged in a Manchester City shirt.
It’s been a slow acclimatisation to the Premier League and to City’s style of play for the defensive midfielder, but at what may just be the most inhospitable Premier League ground of them all, he produced a dominant display to quieten any doubts there may be around his potential to be a long-term fixture in this side.
When he was only on the bench at Newcastle on Saturday Guardiola insisted it was more a reflection of what Ilkay Gundogan can do, rather than what Rodri can’t, but on recent evidence it was hard to dispel the notion that he’d been dropped. Rather than settling into this side, the 23-year-old had looked to be regressing.
At Turf Moor he showed the quality that had convinced Guardiola to sign him and justified the comparisons with Sergio Busquets back in Spain. Rodri was purposeful in possession and committed in the tackle, while he was content to drop deep and take the ball from Ederson or the defence. His decision making of when to press was also much better.
There will be tougher tasks ahead, but this felt like it was a significant night for Rodri, and he deservedly capped it with a goal.
A return to form
City were in need of some positives after a run of one win in five and they came in spades at Turf Moor, especially with the return to form of some key men.
In the absence of Sergio Aguero it hadn’t been the best of auditions for Gabriel Jesus so far. This was the first time the Brazilian had started three successive games for his club since January, when he began against Rotherham in the FA Cup, Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup and Wolves in the Premier League.
But he’d gone eight games without a goal leading up to this fixture and when he showed signs of nerves after breaking clear in the first half, taking one touch too many to narrow his own angle, it looked like his confidence was suffering. No chance. His next opportunity was a half chance at best, but he opened his body to whip a brilliant shot beyond Nick Pope and into the corner, before claiming his second with an acrobatic finish early in the second half.
That goal was created by Bernardo Silva, who enjoyed a return to form of his own. City’s player of the season from last term hasn’t yet hit those standards this season and that has been a contributing factor to the Blues’ struggles. But he was much better at Turf Moor, drifting in menacingly from the right, linking up well with Kevin De Bruyne and looking a threat throughout.
Walker’s role
In his introduction to English football Guardiola has been keen to get someone alongside Rodri, but with Gundogan banned for the trip to Turf Moor he fielded the record signing behind two playmakers, in De Bruyne and David Silva.
But Guardiola still found a way to provide a bit of extra support in midfield, asking Kyle Walker to come inside to form a double pivot in front of the defence, reducing the pressure on Rodri.
Walker would station himself inside whenever the ball was on the left or in an advanced position centrally, before racing back to the right if the action moved that way.
Guardiola has often used full-backs in this way, especially at Bayern Munich. It’s a tactic that has been lesser spotted at City, but it worked well at Turf Moor.
Otamendi
There was an element of horses for courses in Guardiola’s selection at Turf Moor, with Nicolas Otamendi making his first Premier League start since the defeat to Wolves
This felt like an ideal night for Otamendi to return, given Burnley’s physical approach suits his game. Otamendi’s struggles have come against teams with pace on the break, but that was never likely to be an issue against the Clarets.
Instead the Argentinean found himself in a real battle with Chris Wood, who was determined to bully City’s centre back. Otamendi was sluggish initially but gradually rose to the challenge of an old-school scrap with an old-school centre forward.
Burnley’s approach
City will have breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the Burnley teamsheet – presuming they could see it given there were no lights in their dressing room when they arrived – and Ashley Barnes wasn’t in the starting XI.
It was that double threat of Barnes and Wood that would have had Guardiola particularly concerned about Burnley’s attacking threat, so only seeing one of them starting would have been a bonus.
Guardiola had also stressed on Monday that he was desperate for his side not to concede a corner at Turf Moor, having come through the win here in April without doing so. They didn’t achieve that on Tuesday, but the one first half set-piece they did concede ended in them winning a defensive free-kick, with Ederson fouled as he cleared.
ManchesterEveningNews
