Manchester City continued their recent dominance over their Northern counterparts with a much-needed 5-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Riyad Mahrez' first hattrick for the club alongside goals from Benjamin Mendy and Ferran Torres made for sorry viewing for the Clarets, who suffered their fourth consecutive 5-0 defeat at the home of the Blues.

Story of the Match

Manchester City came into the game without a win in their last two league outings, with last weeks defeat at the North London Stadium following on from their 1-1 draw with Liverpool at the Etihad pre-international break.

Goals had been an issue for the Citizens coming into the game too, having scored just eight times in the league prior to kickoff, but there were no issues on that front today.

Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring after just five minutes, finishing off a sweeping Manchester City move that saw the ever-influential Kevin De Bruyne threading the ball through to the Algerian, who made no mistake in bending a left-footed effort past the outstretched reach of Premier League debutant Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

It was clear that Manchester City were in the mood from the getgo, with one soon becoming two as Mahrez doubled the host's advantage after 20 minutes.

It was schoolboy defending from Burnely though, as a lapse in concentration from their defence allowed a quickly taken throw-in from Kyle Walker to find the Algerian in acres of space inside the Burnely area.

It was no gimme though, Mahrez still had work to do and he did that expertly. Dribbling past two would-be tackles before firing an unstoppable effort into the top corner via the inside of the left post.

Things got worse for Burnley on the stroke of halftime, as Manchester City furthered their lead through the most unlikely of sources as De Bruynes cross-field ball was hammered home on the volley by Benjamin Mendy for his first goal for the club.

The visitors were much more involved in the second half, with James Rodriguez forcing Ederson into a smart save down low as Sean Dyche's men looked to kickstart what would have been the most unlikely of comebacks.

Any hope of finding a way back in were well and truly buried when Ferran Torres turned home Gabriel Jesus' cutback on the hour mark following a blistering run down the right flank from Kyle Walker.

That would be Ferran's last touch of the evening, as he was replaced by Phil Foden prior to the restart, with the Englishman taking no time at all to get in on the act.

Yet another delightful cross-field ball from De Bruyne found Foden down the left flank, with the youngster's first contribution being to fire a first-time ball in towards Mahrez at the back post. He made no mistake with the finish, powering a header past a helpless Peacock-Farrell to grab his first hattrick for Guardiola's men.

Peacock-Farrell had had a tough afternoon on his PL debut, and that misery looked to have been compiled in the 74th minute when a massive stroke of bad luck saw the Englishman turn the ball into his own net following a great stop from Jesus' close-range effort.

Thankfully for Peacock-Farrell though the goal was ruled out after the Brazilan was adjudged to be offside in the buildup.

City continued to press late into the game and almost made it six in the dying embers as De Bruyne unleashed a fierce strike that cannoned back off the woodwork.

5-0 was the way that it ended, with Manchester City looking to build on what was undoubtedly their most complete performance of the season to date.

What we Learned

Depth Key for Manchester City

It's no secret the strength in depth that Manchester City has, with their impressive squad proving key yet again this week.

Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden combined for the winner in Greece in the week, but there was no sight of either in the starting lineup today as Pep rang the changes once more.

Only once has the Spaniard named the same XI twice in a row during five-year tenure at the Etihad to date, and it proved fruitful once more tonight.

Burnley's Woes Continue

Coming to the Etihad isn't easy for any side, but Burnely fans have a right to be a little worried with their domestic performances so far this season.

Today's defeat leaves Burnely in a lowly 17th place with just five points and one win so far this campaign. 

They have a tricky run of fixtures leading up to the New Year but they'll need to start picking up points fast, or they could find themselves in real danger of ending their five-year stay in the top flight.

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