Haaland the unstoppable force
If Manchester City are starting to find form as a collective then it is being powered by the magnificent Erling Haaland. The statistics are not only plentiful, but they are also mind-boggling.
That is now 42 goals this season in 37 games. A week ago he was out of form but he now has nine goals in his last 135 minutes of football. This is truly obscene stuff and after a relatively barren run of two goals in eight games he is now electric. This was hat-trick number six of the season.
The idea that he was making City worse, or was at the wrong club, must have been banished for good. He is getting chances at a startling rate and is finishing them clinically.
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One of the stats used to question Haaland's suitability for City this season has been his lack of touches. Incredibly, his last 10 goals for the club have been scored with his first touch, including two penalties. He doesn't need that many touches to hurt teams.
He is scoring from inside the penalty area but his ability to find space, sniff out where the ball is going and finish with a ruthless streak that is beyond every other striker in world football is extraordinary.
It might look easy, but it's really not. Haaland is the most exciting, thrilling and unique footballer in the world. He could be the man to make the difference over the next two-and-a-half months.
City spreading fear
It's not so long ago that City's inconsistency was being cited as the reason they wouldn't win the league this season. They couldn't maintain performance levels and couldn't string wins together.
Thirteen goals in two games, six straight wins and five successive clean sheets would suggest those days are behind us. There has been a reluctance all season to declare that City's 'issues' are behind them, but on the evidence of recent performances, they really are.
The win at Arsenal in February was a statement to Mikel Arteta's side, one that they have responded to impressively, but the displays of the last few weeks must be sending shivers down spines in North London.
If City keep this up then it's hard to see them dropping many more points between now and the end of May. They have found their rhythm at the perfect time and the Premier League leaders must be feeling the breath on the back of their necks.
Burnley's aggression
There are Premier League teams who have shown considerably less ambition at the Etihad than Burnley did on Saturday evening. Plenty of teams come here, defend their penalty area and show little inclination to engage City further up the pitch.
That was not the way of the Clarets and maybe we should have expected it given the identity of the man in their technical area. Vincent Kompany is so wedded to some of Guardiola's principles that he told his players to calm down and keep possession when they couldn't find killer passes on the edge of the opposition area.
Burnley pressed with intelligence and aggression from the off, identifying moments when it triggered a sudden rush to close down Stefan Ortega and the central defenders. They also took an aggressive man-marking approach in midfield, making it difficult for City to play out.
That aggression led to a couple of errors from City in their half and some promising openings for the Championship leaders. Had they taken one it might have been a different game. They didn't deserve the scale of this defeat on their first 30 minutes alone.
Treble talk
Most City seasons reach March with talk of a treble or quadruple still going strong and this one is no exception. What does make this campaign different is that the conversation hasn't had the same volume as in previous years.
Maybe that is because City are doing the hunting in the Premier League, chasing down league leaders Arsenal, but they have the advantage of a game against the Gunners at the Etihad to come. They are also now in the FA Cup semi-finals and you would only consider Manchester United as potential rivals for that trophy.
The Champions League is the one Guardiola desperately wants. City sent out a statement with their win against RB Leipzig in midweek but the draw for the quarter-final and semi-final has given them a difficult path, with Bayern Munich to come and then Chelsea or Real Madrid. But on this form, don't bet against them.
Kompany's credentials
Kompany was always assured of a rapturous welcome back to the Etihad and his emergence from the tunnel before Guardiola was just that. There was a standing ovation, a blast of 'here's to you Vincent Kompany' and then a warm embrace between the City manager and his former captain.
Ever since the draw for this quarter-final was made, Guardiola has been telling anyone who would listen that Kompany is capable of replacing him. It's certainly a compliment to the Clarets' manager but he has been determined to play such talk down.
He's insistent he has a job to do at Turf Moor and wants Guardiola to stay at the Etihad for many more years. He certainly proved his Premier League credentials here though. This wasn't the result that Burnley wanted, but they played an enterprising part in a game that was competitive for longer than it might look.
They will also play a very different brand of football compared to the last time they were in the top flight.
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