Burnley deserve their place in the top half
There’s nothing particularly novel about Sean Dyche’s tactics, but he deserves huge credit for the quality and consistency of their execution. The Clarets were widely tipped for relegation ahead of the season, for the second year in a row, but find themselves in the top half of the table after nine matches.
The loss against City was predictable, but Burnley can take heart from their performance. Coming into the match, the Citizens had scored 24 goals in their last five league games, and put seven past Stoke last weekend. The Clarets proved much tougher to break down, and the turning point in the match proved to be a dubious penalty decision.
The big difference between this season and last for the Clarets so far has been their form away from home, where they picked up only seven points in 2016-17. Already this year they have eight, and have picked up points away to Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool.
They couldn’t replicate the feat on Saturday, but it wasn’t hard to see why they’ve done so well against the league’s elite sides. Even City, whose creativity and movement in the final third is unrivaled in the Premier League, struggled for long stretches against Dyche’s side. Their first was a penalty and their second came from a corner, a sign of how difficult it is to get in behind the Clarets in open play.
James Tarkowski has excelled as Michael Keane’s replacement next to Ben Mee and the organization and discipline of the players around and in front of them make them one of the toughest teams to beat in the division. They may spend a lot of time deep in their own half, but they’re one of the few sides in the league who actually look comfortable there.
What’s becoming increasingly clear is how replicable these performances are. There was a sense last season Burnley were lucky, given how often they picked up points despite seeing almost none of the ball, and creating relatively few chances. But their bend-but-don’t-break approach is tried and tested, and they can no longer be dismissed as plucky, lucky underdogs.