Man City 5-0 Burnley: Riyad Mahrez hat-trick in dominant win (2024)

Riyad Mahrez scored his first Manchester City hat-trick as Pep Guardiola's side beat Burnley 5-0 at Etihad Stadium for the fourth time in a row.

The Algerian curled two first-half efforts into the corner to ease any concerns about a perceived City scoring drought.

Benjamin Mendy drove home Kevin de Bruyne's cross for his first City goal before half-time and Ferran Torres turned home his first Premier League goal after the break following a brief period of Burnley pressure.

Mahrez steered the hosts to their biggest win of the season by completing his first treble since scoring all three for Leicester City in a victory at Swansea City in December 2015 as the Foxes marched towards the title.

It could have been worse for visitors Burnley - and their keeper Bailey Peaco*ck-Farrell, who was making his Premier League debut with first-choice Nick Pope missing because of injury.

In addition to De Bruyne slamming a shot against a post in the final minute, Torres and Gabriel Jesus both had goals disallowed for offside - with both having involved major mistakes from the Northern Ireland keeper.

"It was important to come back with a victory in the Premier League," said City boss Guardiola, whose side had lost 2-0 to Tottenham in their previous league game.

"We play a lot of games so to play 90 minutes and maintain a good level is not easy, but there are always things to improve on.

"It's important for our people to score goals and it is a chance for them to keep playing."

With only 10 goals in their opening eight Premier League games and Sergio Aguero missing with a knee injury, it was just as well Burnley were City's visitors on Saturday.

Guardiola's side have dominated a number of opponents during the Spaniard's time England, but the arrival of Sean Dyche's Clarets at the Etihad is as near a home banker as it is possible to get.

City have now scored 27 times in six matches against Burnley on this ground and once Mahrez had broken the deadlock there was never a chance they would be thwarted.

The visitors simply could not afford the kind of error that saw central defender James Tarkowski get caught out of position close to the touchline after just six minutes, as City swept the ball across the pitch and Mahrez stepped inside to curl home.

Mahrez also has a particularly liking for Burnley - he has now scored eight times against them.

His second, another well-struck shot that curled in at the far corner, was the first time the Algeria winger had scored two in a game since the corresponding fixture last season.

When left-back Mendy smashed home a superb volley from De Bruyne's cross, it was the first time City had scored three in the first half of a game since they hammered Liverpool in July. It was the first time they had scored three at all since their opening game of the season.

These statistics are at odds with previous campaigns, when City have almost scored at will - and Burnley could be forgiven for thinking not much has changed, especially once Torres and Mahrez had converted their second-half efforts.

Now City's task is to show they can hurt different opposition in the same way.

This was another chastening afternoon for Burnley, who have won just one game all season and dropped back into the bottom three after West Bromwich Albion beat Sheffield United in the day's late game.

Dyche will surely be unhappy at the lapses in concentration that led to City's first two goals and England keeper Pope needs to regain his fitness quickly given the troubles Peaco*ck-Farrell endured.

Burnley's other debutant, 20-year-old midfielder Josh Benson, came closest for the visitors when his second-half free-kick was deflected narrowly wide.

In truth, Benson was not in the same class as the men he was opposing - although, not for the first time in recent seasons, that could be said for every Burnley player.

"You can't start a game with a gameplan then throw it out of the window with a mistake that early against this team," said Dyche.

"They use the ball so well and there's movement everywhere, so it becomes a tough afternoon.

"We have got injuries galore at the moment. We recovered then got four or five more this week. We played into their hands. We played a short pass which wasn't needed. We wanted to put it on top of them but we didn't do it."