Manchester City put three past Burnley: 3 things we learned

Manchester City beat Burnley 3-0 at the Etihad on Saturday, Oct. 21. Here are three things we learned.

Manchester City weren’t at their best against Burnley on Saturday, but after taking the lead thanks to a first-half Sergio Aguero penalty, they eased to a 3-0 win to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table. Here are three things we learned from the match.

Aguero equals record on return from injury

Sergio Aguero, back in City’s starting XI after a brief injury layoff, scored from the spot to give his side the lead and equal the club’s all-time goalscoring record. The penalty itself was soft — Nick Pope made contact with Bernardo Silva, but the midfielder went down very easily — but Aguero’s finish was emphatic.

The goal was just reward for another good performance. Burnley make life exceedingly difficult for opposition center-forwards, crowding the box and shutting down the sorts of spaces Aguero likes to work in. But his ability to drop deep and link up with City’s midfielders caused the Clarets problems throughout, and he may have broken the record with some more clinical finishing.

It feels like a very long time ago now some were questioning whether the Argentine forward had what it takes to thrive under Pep Guardiola. Still, Guardiola makes extremely specific demands of his players, and one could perhaps have forgiven Aguero, approaching his 30th birthday and with a long injury history, for seeking a move to a more comfortable situation.

It’s a sign of his quality and dedication that he’s embraced the challenge of playing under Guardiola. He couldn’t break the record on Saturday, but it’s only a matter of time until he does. When it comes, he’ll rightly be heralded as one of the greatest players in club history, if not the greatest.