The Premier League is like an exclusive club, populated with the talented, the wealthy and the beautiful. It is a club to which Burnley have held fully paid up membership for the last three years allowing them to brandish their inclusion amongst envious neighbours, with an understated, but knowing insouciance.
Yesterday at the Etihad, however, Burnley were afforded a glimpse of the cordoned off VIP area into which they know they will never gain admittance, let alone be welcomed warmly. It was a salutary experience.
A few years ago, there was a gate-crasher, who breached the cordon and messed things up for the occupants. Since then, the traditional membership have beefed up security to ensure that there will not be another Leicester-style incursion any time soon.
So it is left to Burnley and others like them to assume the role of occasional playthings for those on the inside; to be toyed with, mesmerised, and then disposed of with the casual disregard of an old-style Middle-Eastern Potentate.
Manchester City are currently all-powerful; the VIP of VIP’s; in previous encounters, Burnley have set out an impressive stall, determined not to yield without at least leaving their mark, and for the first half yesterday, the Clarets looked set to do the same once again.
They fell behind to a slick passing move, culminating with the precision cross which eluded four Burnley defenders deployed along the six yard line and fell to the feet of Sergio Aguero, who wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to add to his already plump tally against one of his favourite opponents.
That goal aside, Burnley looked composed, maintaining a strong shape, good balance and even strung together a few passes. But the only glimpse of City’s goal came as early as the first minute, when Vincent Kompany scythed down Aaron Lennon and was punished with a mere yellow card, instead of the red which Sean Dyche, the rules of football, and moral decency decreed he should have received.
The resulting free kick was met by Sam Vokes, whose header cleared the crossbar. From and attacking point of view, that was as good as it got for Burnley.
The pivotal passage of the match came early in the second half, when Leroy Sane was brought down in the penalty area – or was he? Referee Jon Moss seemed unsure; he pursed his lips around his whistle, but failed to exhale. Time stood still, but not for David Silva, who retrieved the ball from behind the goal line, before slipping it to Bernado Silva who scored a hotly controversial goal.
The stadium replay of the goal was carefully edited to exclude its more dubious elements and showed only Silva’s finish.
A few mere moments later Fernandino’s superb shot from the edge of the area settled the contest and City were in cruise control thereafter, adding two further goals from Mahrez and Sane, each delivered with style and aplomb which would, in other circumstances, leave one drooling with admiration.
In his post-match interview, Dyche was understandably livid at the twin injustices he felt his team had suffered, but he must have known deep down that neither the sending off of Kompany, or the disallowing of the second goal would have been likely to alter the eventual outcome.
Almost as an afterthought, a final kick to the stomach of a stricken and vanquished foe, Pep Guardiola summoned Kevin De Bruyne from the bench, emphasising the gulf in the quality and depth of the two squads.
The irony that Burnley had been desperate for their own Belgian midfielder, Stephen Defour, to resume his duties after injury, whilst City could carry on with smooth and ruthless efficiency without theirs, was not lost.
As it was, Defour got through seventy-five minutes consisting largely of shadow-chasing, but that at least represented a positive which could be taken away from what was otherwise a comprehensive hammering.
Five-nil defeats are never anything but a weekend-ruining exercise in humiliation, but in mitigation it must be noted that there are few teams in the Premier League who would have avoided a similar fate when faced with Manchester City in that sort of form. Some small solace may be gleaned from that knowledge.
This match summary was written by Dave Thornley who contributes regularly to Clarets Mad.