da roleta： The Argentine bagged a brace in a 3-1 win to show he is worth keeping in the starting line-up despite the return of City's superstar attackers
da marjack bet： Julian Alvarez celebrated his birthday in style by leading Manchester City to a comfortable 3-1 victory over Burnley on Wednesday night. Pep Guardiola made six changes to his side but Alvarez started a 21st-consecutive league game and bagged two goals in quick succession, the second helped by an audacious Kevin De Bruyne assist from a free-kick.
De Bruyne was making his first start in over five months and Erling Haaland came off the bench, with their returns potentially threatening Alvarez's place in future starting line-ups. But the Argentine showed he is worth keeping around as City continue to chase Liverpool in the title race.
Rodri put City further at ease early at the start of the second half but Burnley got a consolation goal, as Ameen Al Dakhil pounced on a blunder from Ederson in added time.
GOAL rates Man City's players from the Etihad Stadium…
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Ederson (4/10):
Barely had to make a save until badly messing up and gifting Al Dakhil the late goal. Earned a booking for shoving Connor Roberts while defending Rico Lewis.
Rico Lewis (7/10):
Came in for Kyle Walker and looked equally experienced and assured while showing more ambition in attack.
John Stones (6/10):
Solid in his first match back for a month. Mostly stayed in defence rather than joining midfield.
Nathan Ake (7/10):
A towering presence, brushing Burnley's forwards aside as if they were schoolboys playing against adults.
Josko Gvardiol (5/10):
Strong in both halves for most of the game, making a perfectly-timed tackle on Lyle Foster and coming close to scoring. But loses a mark for being easily beaten in the build-up to Burnley's consolation goal.
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Matheus Nunes (6/10):
Made the most of a first league start in over a month by setting up the opener. Burnley made life easy for him although still looks very much a squad player and not a regular.
Rodri (7/10):
Physically dominant as ever and dangerous too, slotting his sixth goal of the season.
Phil Foden (7/10):
Orchestrated the play, linking midfield and attack to perfection. Set up Rodri's strike.
Getty Attack
Kevin De Bruyne (7/10):
Showed real invention to set up Alvarez's second. Not quite at full throttle after so long out but getting there.
Julian Alvarez (8/10):
Played like he had a point to prove with De Bruyne and Haaland returning. He sure made it, showing wonderful movement, composure and lethal finishing.
Jeremy Doku (7/10):
Kept Vitinho on his toes from the start with some electrifying runs down the left wing.
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Erling Haaland (6/10):
A welcome return after seven weeks out. Looked hungry for a goal but a bit rusty, miskicking a shot and misplacing a final pass.
Jack Grealish (6/10):
Tried to get Haaland a goal in the 13 minutes he was on for.
Mateo Kovacic (N/A):
Came on in the 87th minute.
Sergio Gomez (N/A):
Brought on in the 87th minute, too.
Pep Guardiola (7/10):
Made six changes with no impact on his side's ability to win and gave important minutes to Haaland plus long-awaited starts for Stones and De Bruyne. Job done.