Man City stars show true colours with Kyle Walker gesture in Burnley win

Kyle Walker lapped up the applause and respect on his Manchester City return but had a tough afternoon against his former teammates

Kyle Walker managed to stay under the radar for the first hour of his return to Manchester City. He stayed on his side for the warm-ups, got a bear hug from Erling Haaland and then clapped the home fans as they showed their appreciation for him.

Then the game started, and he looked in front of him to find Jeremy Doku in the form of his City life. Doku got the ball again and again, skinning Walker and everyone else whose path he ventured into in a bright opening for Pep Guardiola's side.

It brought the first goal inside 11 minutes, with a jinking run turned into the net by Burnley defender Maxime Esteve under pressure from Phil Foden after Martin Dubravka could only parry Doku's effort in front of him. Prepared for a low block, a lively City had an early reward.

What looked like a long afternoon ahead for Walker nearly got significantly shorter. Booked for a late tackle on Foden that saw him need treatment off the pitch, he then nipped back on before being given permission to take the ball off Doku's toes.

Walker has plenty of friends in the City squad but that did not stop some of them calling for a second yellow for their former teammate. The determination to do everything possible to win disappeared in Walker's final season at the Etihad but the mean streak is coming back.

They have to stop being so generous at the back though. A half City were coasting through was suddenly all undone when slack defending from Matheus Nunes and Ruben Dias allowed Jaidon Anthony to equalise.

Burnley were rejuvenated going into the break, and threatened again after it with Lyle Foster's pace troubling Dias. Guardiola was bothered enough to call for Oscar Bobb from the bench, with Savinho's impact long faded.

Before he could come on though, City had retaken the lead with Erling Haaland standing up Josko Gvardiol's cross and Matheus Nunes lashing it into the back of the net. Minutes after Bobb's arrival, he looked set to tap in a Nunes cross only for Esteve to beat him to it for his second own goal of the day.

Guardiola admitted on Friday that Walker has proven difficult to replace, and there will be no more faith in Nunes's defensive abilities after this game. It helps no end for him, however, that he can pop up in the other box and influence the game that way.

It also helps to have Doku playing as he is, and he finally got a deserved assist in injury time as he crossed for Haaland. The No.9 then added his ninth goal of the season after a defensive mix-up.

As the niceties returned for Walker, the concerns over a position he once had locked up remain. With three points on the board in a weekend where Liverpool dropped points though, City can live with that for now.

---

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.