Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves deliver verdict on Manchester City win over Burnley

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Optus Sport pundits Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves have given their thoughts on Manchester City’s latest Premier League victory.

Pep Guardiola’s charges ran out 2-0 winners at Burnley on Wednesday night, their 13th consecutive victory in all competitions.

City didn’t take long to find the opener at Turf Moor as Bernardo Silva’s effort was parried straight into the path of Gabriel Jesus, who duly nodded into the empty net on three minutes.

The visitors, who had the lion’s share of possession in the first half, doubled their lead on 38 minutes as an Ilkay Gundogan pull-back was tapped in by Raheem Sterling.

City had more chances to extend their advantage, with Sterling missing a one-on-one shortly after the restart and Riyad Mahrez seeing a goal disallowed for offside around the hour mark.

The win gave City a sixth straight league clean sheet, and an eighth from nine league games, in which they’ve conceded just once.

City are now 20 games unbeaten in all competitions, conceding just four times in that run, and their sixth straight clean sheet is a club record.

The Citizens’ win took them three points clear at the top of the table, ahead of Manchester United, having played one game fewer than their rivals.

“There’s been a notable change with Manchester City, the way they’re playing,” Owen said on Optus Sport.

“They used to just blitz everyone, go toe-to-toe and say ‘we’re going to score more than you’.

“Now, even though they’re still very talented going forward, they look very solid.

“You could win the Premier League with that old attitude. But when you’re trying to win the Champions League you’ve got to have this resilience that they’ve got at the moment.”

Former Citizens midfielder Hargreaves also gave his verdict, along with a bold, tongue-in-cheek claim.

“City could have played without a goalkeeper,” he said. “They’re so strong. They defend like an old school English team now.

“The ball comes into the box and they clear their lines and don’t take any chances.

“I’m amazed at how quickly Pep has turned this team around from being such an attacking team where they pressed high. Now they look comfortable defending deep.”

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City are in simply sensational form, looking very much back to their best and emerging as firm frontrunners, while most of their challengers continue to blow hot and cold.

The big test for the Citizens comes on Sunday, when they head to Liverpool, and they’ll be favourites to turn over a heavily depleted side whose stadium is no longer a fortress.