There were thrills and spills aplenty in this goal fest with City falling 2-0 behind before recovering to 3-2 and then showing frailty to concede an 86th minute equaliser that meant demotion from the top four.
One defeat in fourteen matches, none in the last eight in all competitions, a place in the last eight of the Carling Cup and a slot in the top six of the Premier League still represents a more than presentable return but it could have been even better.
After four consecutive draws in the Premier League – three of them away from home – some of those prone to leaping on any passing bandwagon have been having a pop at City’s credentials.
This game represented an opportunity to highlight the growing quality and confidence in a Blues squad but the pre-game plans were in tatters after a little more than half an hour when the Clarets were two up.
Graham Alexander opened the scoring in the 18th minute from the penalty spot when Joleon Lescott jumped into a Tyrone Mears cross with his arms in the air. When the ball struck him, referee Atwell looked to his assistant and pointed to the spot.
It was not what most people had expected. The omens before the game were positive, the home side having put 21 goals past Burnley in their last five meetings scoring two fives and a six in the process.
Coupled with that, the current Clarets had proved far from the vintage variety on the road and arrived with the worst away record in the Premier League hanging heavily around their necks. They had lost on all five previous road trips and conceded 17 goals in the process.
Even so the East Lancashire side were two up in the 31st minute after huge gaps appeared through the middle of the City defence and Chris Eagles centred for Steven Fletcher to tap home from a couple of yards.
City lifted another bumper sell out crowd as half time approached. Shaun Wright-Phillips’ effort from the edge of the box, which took a slight deflection on its the way, comprehensively beat ‘the beast’ Brian Jensen and nestled in the corner.
...Chris Bailey
That was expected to be the catalyst for a second half charge and that quickly became the case. A Tevez free kick was held under the bar by Jensen and then in the 54th minute a Gareth Barry free kick found its way to the far post where Lescott knocked it back across goal for Kolo Toure, back along with Emmanuel Adebayor after injury, to level matters.
Three minutes later City hit the in front. SWP’s low cross behind the charging Adebayor was clipped home by Bellamy to make it 3-2 and at that point it seemed a matter of how many.
Jensen saved low down from Tevez, David Nugent cleared off his own line after a Martin Petrov corner and then no one could get the final touch to the Bulgarian’s hard low cross that sped across the face of the goal.
Burnley looked beaten but freshened by a raft of substitutions they managed to find a sting in the tail and one of their replacements, Kevin McDonald slammed home the sixth goal of the game in the 86th minute to secure the Clarets a first away point of the campaign and leave the Blues cursing what might have been going into the international break with Liverpool first up on the other side of it.
