BURNLEY, England -- If victory over Arsenal opened the door for Manchester City to mount a late title charge, then they were only able to tiptoe towards it at Burnley.
A narrow, nervy 1-0 win at Turf Moor on Wednesday relegated Burnley and put Pep Guardiola's side top of the table. But only just. After being level on points and goal difference, they are ahead of Arsenal on goals scored. With five games to go, it's the smallest of margins.
When Erling Haaland scored inside five minutes, it felt like one of those nights that could boost City's goal difference. But then chance after chance went begging and Burnley felt emboldened enough to send their goalkeeper, Martin Dúbravka, forward for a stoppage-time corner.
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For a moment, the away fans who made the 20-mile trip from Manchester collectively held their breath. It was that type of night.
"Winning is the main target," said Guardiola. "Considering the last three days and the emotion and physicality in the game we played [against Arsenal], we made an extraordinary game.
"The chances we created we could score more goals, but the important thing is winning every game. Five games in the Premier League for both teams and we'll see what happens."
It started so well. If Arsenal fans were hoping for a favor from Burnley, those watching on TV instead saw a gift-wrapped early goal for their title rivals.
There had already been enough time for Rayan Cherki to hit the crossbar. And when a hopeful ball forward from deep in City's half found Jérémy Doku, the Belgian winger had the simple task of sliding his pass through for Haaland to clip his finish over Dúbravka.
It prompted the first chants of "We are top of the league" from the away fans behind Gianluigi Donnarumma's goal.
But by 70 minutes, the party atmosphere in the away end had turned to frustration. Antoine Semenyo blasted over. Haaland hit the post. Savinho, on as a substitute, had a shot saved by Dúbravka. With five minutes to go, Guardiola was slumped on the bench, shaking his head. And that was before Nico O'Reilly missed a golden chance in the last minute. City ended the night with 28 shots and an xG of 3.5.
"We had chances," said Guardiola. "We have to win the games, but [chances] were clear, clear, clear.