After suffering a foot injury, Erling Haaland played in his first game in over two months as Manchester City defeated Burnley 3-1 to keep pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool.
With two goals in six first-half minutes, Julian Alvarez put City on the way to their fourth straight Premier League victory. Haaland came in as a second-half substitution, taking the place of Kevin De Bruyne, who looked impressive in his first start since August.
The Argentine’s second goal, after a close-range header for his first, came from a brilliant De Bruyne free-kick that surprised the Burnley defenders. 24 seconds after the first half Rodri swept home Phil Foden’s cut-back to seal the victory for City.
Even though Ameen Al-Dakhil of Burnley scored a late consolation goal, Haaland was unable to join in the fun and even showed signs of rustiness when he uncharacteristically spurned a couple of late chances. However, his return from injury and the start of De Bruyne completed an excellent evening for Man City.
The victory puts Pep Guardiola’s team back above Arsenal into second position, with a match in hand on leaders Liverpool. Burnley, however, remain 19th, 7 points from safety, with manager and former City captain Vincent Kompany losing on his return to the Etihad.