Two own goals by Maxime Esteve ended Burnley’s hopes of fighting back as Manchester City cruised to a 5-1 Premier League win on Saturday, with Erling Haaland scoring a late brace.
City’s third win in the campaign took them to 10 points from six matches, reducing the gap with champions Liverpool to five points.
City took an early lead when Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka palmed away Jeremy Doku’s shot but it rebounded towards Phil Foden, and Esteve’s hurried attempt to clear the danger went into the net instead.
City dominated possession and subdued the Burnley attack, with the visitors unable to make an attempt to score until the 23rd minute, when Kyle Walker tried his luck with a long shot.
Dubravka deflected Nico Gonzalez’s shot for a corner and punched away Foden’s free kick to keep Burnley in the game, as a dominant City looked to double their lead.
But Burnley’s very first shot on target found the equaliser in the 38th minute, when Jaidon Anthony played a one-two with Quilindschy Hartman and fired with his left foot inside the box. The ball took a deflection off Ruben Dias and hopped into the net.
Anthony’s fourth goal of the season reinvigorated Burnley and the visitors pushed for a second goal after the break, with Hartman’s shot testing City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
But City regained the lead in the 61st minute when Haaland, who had a quiet first half, leapt up to head down a cross for Matheus Nunes to finish from close range.
Esteve’s second own goal came four minutes later, as substitute Oscar Bobb’s shot hit the French defender before going in near the far post, giving City a comfortable 3-1 lead.
Dubravka kept out shots from Tijjani Reijnders and Doku as City piled on the pressure, but he could not deny Haaland when the Norwegian forward found the net from Doku’s pass.
Haaland scored again in added time as a mix-up between defenders Esteve and Hjalmar Ekdal allowed the league’s leading scorer to break through towards goal and slot in his eighth goal in the campaign, sealing a 5-1 win for City.
Meanwhile, Premier League champions Liverpool dropped points for the first time this season when they lost 2-1 at Crystal Palace in the eighth minute of added time as Manchester United and Chelsea suffered 3-1 defeats on Saturday.
United slumped at Brentford and 10-man Chelsea were beaten at home by Brighton & Hove Albion, who scored twice in stoppage time.
Liverpool were on the back foot early on when Palace took the lead in the ninth minute through a set-piece when the ball fell to Ismaila Sarr who smashed it home.
Liverpool would have conceded more if not for goalkeeper Alisson while Jean-Philippe Mateta nearly made it 2-0 when he hit the post.
Although Liverpool equalised through Federico Chiesa in the 87th minute, fellow substitute Eddie Nketiah provided late drama when he scored the winner in the 97th minute, with Selhurst Park celebrating the goal twice after VAR confirmed he was not offside.
“The boys are in really good form and think we can win every game and today we showed that,” Nketiah told the BBC.
Palace moved provisionally up to second, three points behind leaders Liverpool.
Bryan Mbeumo received a warm welcome from the Brentford fans as he returned to his former club for the first time since his move to Manchester United but the reception paled in comparison to the roars when the home side went 2-0 up inside 20 minutes.
Igor Thiago capitalised on United’s high line for the opener when Jordan Henderson sent him through on goal in the eighth minute, before the Brazilian forward grabbed his second when United keeper Altay Bayindir spilled a save right into his path.
United pulled one back when Benjamin Sesko scored his first goal for the club but Bruno Fernandes had a penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher before Mathias Jensen put the game out of reach in added time with a rocket from outside the box.
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