MATCH VERDICT: Manchester City 5 Burnley 0

Burnley suffered a fourth successive 5-0 defeat against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City scores his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Manchester, England.Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City scores his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Manchester, England.
Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City scores his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Manchester, England.

A Riyad Mahrez hat-trick - the Algerian international's first for the club - sunk the Clarets into submission while goals from Benjamin Mendy and Ferran Torres compounded the away side's misery.

Sean Dyche' side were dragged back into the Premier League's bottom three as a result, with West Brom climbing out after picking up their first win of the season against Sheffield United at The Hawthorns.

Here are the talking points.

Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City scores his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Manchester, England.Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City scores his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Manchester, England.
Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City scores his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Manchester, England.

PAR FIVE

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Conceding five against Pep Guardiola's City is just par for the course. But nobody - not even boss Sean Dyche - can put their finger on what has caused this peculiar sequence of results.

Last season's Premier League runners up became the first side in 113 years to win four consecutive home games by at least a five-goal margin against the same opponent when dismantling the Clarets.

Notts County had previously achieved that feat between October 1893 and February 1907 against Port Vale, though those results weren't quite as symmetrical.

Benjamin Mendy of Manchester City scores their team's third goal past Bailey Peacock-Farrell of Burnley during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Manchester, England.Benjamin Mendy of Manchester City scores their team's third goal past Bailey Peacock-Farrell of Burnley during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Manchester, England.
Benjamin Mendy of Manchester City scores their team's third goal past Bailey Peacock-Farrell of Burnley during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Manchester, England.

"It's a peculiar one," accepted Dyche. "It's the rare ground in the Premier League where this has occurred, unfortunately, on a consistent basis.

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"It's been similarly mapped out as well where we've made mistakes in the game and they've capitalised on them. The game plan goes immediately out of the window."

Seven defeats on the bounce away at City isn't a major cause for concern given the financial disparity between the two clubs.

However, there's no rhyme nor reason as to why this specific fixture gives Burnley the heebie-jeebies on such a frequent scale.

Burnley's Josh Benson looks on as Manchester City's Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne runs with the ball during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Burnley at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on November 28, 2020.Burnley's Josh Benson looks on as Manchester City's Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne runs with the ball during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Burnley at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on November 28, 2020.
Burnley's Josh Benson looks on as Manchester City's Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne runs with the ball during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Burnley at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on November 28, 2020.

The Clarets have been blown away almost every time - losing by an aggregate of 29-2 since 2017 - and that doesn't happen anywhere else.

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They've been in games at Anfield, drawing two of the last three, and were the only team to take a point against the champions on their own turf last season.

They've collected six points and a couple of clean sheets from their last four visits to Old Trafford.

The Clarets famously beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2017 and held the Blues to a couple of draws either side.

Prior to last season's humiliation at the brand-spanking Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Dyche's side had always found a formula to stay in games against Spurs.

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And despite losing all six games at the Emirates, the Clarets have finished within a goal of Arsenal in 50% of those meetings.

"We all know the disparity in the division but that's just the way it is," added Dyche.

"We've been down this road before. You're playing against a top side and when they turn up they punish you."

It's certainly an uncanny trend, but Burnley's troubles away at City run much deeper than the previous four meetings.

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The club's form since a 5-2 win at Maine Road in the old Division One on March 26th, 1963, has been inherently troubled.

Their record stands at one win in 21 games on their travels and they have now gone 14 competitive away fixtures without a win since Clarets defender Colin Waldron netted the winner in the Charity Shield in August 1973.

Is the City glitch psychological? Has the trepidation of that fixture become ingrained? Who knows.

Solving this conundrum is perhaps more improbable than deciphering a Rubix Cube.

CHANGE OF SYSTEM

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Injuries may have forced Dyche's hand somewhat, but a change of tact with a switch to 4-2-3-1 had brought encouragement prior to kick off.

The ploy was presumably to fight fire with fire in a bid to prevent City from having it all their own way.

Unfortunately, we'll never know how effective that system might have been as the visitors failed to activate their new look.

The game plan went out of the window just six minutes in when Riyad Mahrez punished James Tarkowski's insipid pass.

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Dyche said: "If you look at the last few games here when we've been well beaten we've given them goals. That's not like what we normally do.

"You can't do that to any side in the Premier League, but you certainly can't do it to the top sides. We've made a nasty habit of doing it at this ground and we've done it again today."

It clearly knocked the stuffing out of Burnley, who suddenly became introverted and played into City's hands.

At that point their shape became jagged and disjointed. It didn't really serve a purpose.

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The group unconsciously recoiled into more of a 4-5-1, rendering their initial good intentions redundant.

The Clarets invited the pressure, leaving inexplicable pockets of space in-between the lines, and Kevin de Bruyne thrived on the freedom.

And they remained in disarray until after the break, when reverting back to a more familiar 4-4-2, which, for a period, stemmed City's dominance.

"We were talking as a staff and Woany pointed it out," said Dyche. "We wanted to activate it, but we didn't get the chance to do that today.

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"We gave them a chance and they took it and they scored their second quite shortly afterwards and it's very difficult then.

"These sides are confident anyway, but it just breeds the confidence. We didn't activate the game plan because we made a mistake so early in the game."

They simply didn't help themselves. They were the instigators of their own downfall.

Tarkowski shouldered the blame for the first, Charlie Taylor and Ben Mee switched off from a throw-in for the second while Jay Rodriguez failed to tune in to Benjamin Mendy's run for number three.

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After half-time, Taylor and Dwight McNeil didn't do enough to prevent the fourth and Matt Lowton was nowhere to be seen for City's fifth and final goal.

JOSH BENSON

“We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.” Those words from former president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, were certainly reflective of the midfielder's display on his Premier League debut.

The 20-year-old's last game in the league might have been in the fourth tier during a loan spell at Grimsby Town, but the Arsenal academy product seemed right at home in his new surroundings.

His partnership alongside Ashley Westwood in the middle of the park was one of very few positives to come out of Burnley's heaviest defeat of the campaign.

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Nicking the ball off Kevin de Bruyne early on won't have done his confidence any harm and he grew into the game from that moment.

Benson picked up intelligent positions in front of the back four to add a protective layer and break up the play.

He looked after the ball well when the opportunity arose and used it wisely when, given the circumstances and his inexperience, he could quite easily have shied away from the challenge.

Benson, a stand out performer for Burnley Under 23s over the past couple of years, had impressed in the Capital Cup tie against Millwall at The Den in September.

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And while he may return to the bench when Josh Brownhill recovers from a back injury, the youngster has proved that he's not just making up the numbers.

"I thought Josh Benson was terrific," said Dyche. "I'm really pleased and I made him aware of that after the game, as did the players.

"He gave a really good account of himself in a really tough game."

BRIDGING THE GAP

A five-point gap from 16th in the table is far from insurmountable, but the Clarets have to start eating into that deficit before it becomes a problem.

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The four teams at the bottom of the Premier League have already been cut adrift slightly and, a quarter of the way into the season, Burnley are playing catch up.

The Everton game at Turf Moor suddenly becomes more pressing. They can't afford to let sides like Brighton extend their advantage any further.

Burnley have lost their opening nine league fixtures for the first time since 1981-82, when they were in the third tier, and, along with the Blades, they're the lowest scoring team in the division.

Negotiating the club's survival this season is quickly turning into the biggest challenge of Dyche's eight-year tenure at Turf Moor.

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Speaking after the game, BT Sport pundit Robbie Savage said: "They worked hard for their manager but the quality wasn’t there. The big worry for Burnley is only four goals in nine Premier League games.

"I think three of the bottom four will go down. I think Brighton with 10 points will have enough, because they can score goals. I think the relegation situation is becoming quite clear.

"For me, it’s three out of those four. They’re in trouble. It’s going to be tough, but one thing’s for sure, Sean will have his team prepared, he’ll have them ready and he’ll have them going again.”