Man City have lost their flair - but Guardiola's team are showing the fight required to be champions

SPORT

Sergio Aguero celebrates with his team-mates scoring his side's second goal.

Total football - it was not.

Sergio Aguero’s strike that ultimately decided it was a total mess, as far as Burnley were concerned.

It’s safe to assume this is not Pep Guardiola’s vision of Manchester City.

But until the Catalan can get this team playing anything like those he produced at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he will at least be satisfied with their ability to drag themselves over the line.

That was the case at Crystal Palace seven days earlier.

And in the Saturday lunchtime kick off at Turf Moor they needed to show their grit and resilience to overcome Burnley 2-1.

At Selhurst Park it was Toure rolling back the years with both goals in the 2-1 win.

On this occasion it was another veteran of City’s recent glories - Aguero who proved the match-winner.

Aguero nets City's first goal

In that respect Guardiola is following the well-trodden patch of his predecessors Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini.

How many times did they have to turn to that pair to pull City out of the mire?

That’s what world class players do - and as Guardiola experiences his first winter in English football he may find he has to rely on the tried and trusted with increasing regularity over the coming months.

The football that was from another planent in the opening weeks of the campaign has given way to fractious, disjointed displays in recent weeks.

Guardiola’s ever-changing cast of defenders continue to alarm.

Much of the fluid attacking football has deserted them too.

Aguero (left) celebrates with team-mate Nolito after grabbing City's second

Toure’s double against Palace came courtesy of a deflection and a defensive mix up.

Both of Aguero’s goals against Burnley were the result of calamitous defending.

His 37th minute equaliser - after Dean Marney had volleyed Burnley ahead from the edge of the box - came as a result of a goal-mouth scramble. The Argentine eventually poked home from close range when the ball squirmed through to him.

His second was positively cartoonish - Burnley squandering four or five opportunities to clear before Fernandinho’s cross was bundled over the line.

For the second week in succession it was an unconvincing display from Guardiola’s team - with Claudio Bravo having to produce two injury time saves to secure the points.The champagne football that he hopes to bring to City on a consistent basis will have to wait.

The Premier League will be won with fight, as much as flair - and Guardiola is showing he has plenty of that.

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Manchester City and Leo Messi are again sharing headlines with the latest report suggesting confidence in signing one of the best players in the world has 'exploded' at the Etihad.

With the claim earlier this week that the Barcelona star will not sign another contract with the club he has spent his entire career at, City have stepped up their preparations over a potential move.They are willing to pay more than £100m as a transfer fee and pay Messi £500,000-a-week in wages in order to reunite him with Pep Guardiola. Another name not unfamiliar to this column is Juventus defender Alex Sandro.The Brazilian left-back's name has cropped up before in relation to City and City have apparently scouted him in Serie A - but will have to move quickly before he signs a new contract.

Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City Yaya Toure scores twice but Kompany injured again

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 19: Yaya Toure of Manchester City celebrates scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park on November 19, 2016 in London, England.

Yaya Toure made a spectacular return to Manchester City's first team - scoring twice as Pep Guardiola’s side saw off Crystal Palace, writes JAMES ROBSON.

Conor Wickham had threatened to spoil the party with his second half strike that looked like earning the home side a point.

But Toure, whose deflected effort put City in front in the first half, tapped home with seven minutes to go to secure a 2-1 win.

The Ivorian was a shock inclusion - starting his first Premier League game of the season.

And he made an emphatic statement opening the scoring after 39 minutes.

Palace came out with renewed vigour in the second half - piling the pressure on City’s goal while Selhurst Park rocked.

And just seconds after Sergio Aguero came within a whisker of putting the game out of sight Wickham struck.

With City staring down the barrell of a fourth draw in their last five Premier League games, Toure was on hand to tap over the line from six yards.

The one negative for City was another injury blow to Vincent Kompany, who lasted only 37 minutes with suspected concussion.

Pep Guardiola's sex rules for a good night's sleep

Nasri has scored three goals in 10 appearances for Sevilla this season

Pep Guardiola wants his Manchester City players to refrain from having sex after midnight, according to on-loan French midfielder Samir Nasri.

The 29-year-old said the City boss imposed the rule, even if the team did not have a game the next day, so players get "a good night's sleep".

Guardiola is also claimed to have said it helped Barcelona forward Lionel Messi avoid muscle injuries.

Nasri was sent on a season-long loan to Sevilla on transfer deadline day.

He told French TV programme L'Équipe du Soir that Guardiola "wants his players to be slim and fit".

Nasri added: "He banned a lot of things in the kitchen but the biggest anecdote is that he says before a day off, those who want to have (sexual) relations it's before midnight. And that's with a day off the next day. It's because he wants you to have a good night's sleep."

Nasri, who signed for City in 2011, added: "He said he told that to Messi, who since then does not get muscle injuries."

The midfielder made one appearance for City this season, before he was loaned to the La Liga club

Guardiola did not allow Nasri to train with the main group during pre-season as he had returned overweight.

"Guardiola told me that I was a mess, he told me several times and even kicked me in the butt, literally," added Nasri.

Lionel Messi opens the door for Manchester City after refusing Barcelona talks

According to Marca, Lionel Messi has told Barcelona that he doesn’t want to extend his Barcelona contract at the moment.

According to Spanish publication Marca, Lionel Messi told Barcelona back in July that he didn’t want to sign a contract extension with Barcelona as he wants to keep his options open.

This means that Manchester City may well be on red alert if Messi doesn’t choose to renew his contract as the man commonly known as the world’s best player would be available on a free transfer.

Marca report that “Manchester City are the club that has a greater chance of acquiring his services” due to the appeal of Pep Guardiola on the bench and the project that is unfolding at the Etihad.

As well as the ongoing project at Manchester City, Lionel Messi may be keen to move elsewhere due to the ongoing tax investigation in Spain, during which he was sentenced to 21 months in prison, although he won’t serve that time.

However, it’s important to note that Marca is a Madrid based publication and the story could merely be created to cause discontent within Barcelona.

Man City goalkeeper Caballero explains what makes Stones SO special

Man City defender John Stones is such a special talent because he has maturity beyond his years, according to team-mate Willy Caballero .

The 22-year-old has impressed since his £47.5 million move from Everton in the summer and has found a kindred spirit in boss Pep Guardiola .

Known for his love of playing out from the back, Stones has become a key player for both City and England - despite being just 22.

Having witnessed Stones' seamless start first hand, Caballero feels the Three Lions are in safe hands ahead of the visit of Spain on Tuesday.

“He’s different to the normal centre-back in England,” he told mancity.com “They are always big and very good with high balls. John plays really well from the right side, the left side, and his passing always tries to build something.

“He does everything very well. We are really happy with him. I’m pretty sure England have a great centre-back for a long time.

“To play with John, with Nico, with Vincent, with Kola - for me, as a ‘keeper, is wonderful, because they have confidence and they have quality.

“John is so young but he plays as though he has been around for more years. He is growing up now with Pep and hopefully England can have a great centre-back in him.”

Man City's Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne earn Ballon d'Or nominations

Sergio Aguero is in the running to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or award.

The Manchester City striker was the first of five names announced by France Football on Monday morning as part of a 30-man shortlist that will be revealed through the course of the day.

Joining him in contention are Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Real Madrid pair Cristiano Ronalo and Gareth Bale.

Kevin De Bruyne was part of the second batch of names that featured fellow attackers Paulo Dybala, Antoine Griezmann, and Gonzalo Higuain and also Diego Godin.

Aguero is feeling the heat at City as he attempts to understand and carry out what Pep Guardiola wants from him, and failure to net against Southampton made it three league games without a goal for the first time since December 2015.

Yet that statistic also reveals how consistent he has been this year, and his performances have been recognised.

Having merged in 2010, the Ballon d'Or has now parted ways with the Fifa World Player of the Year prize, meaning there will be two separate awards.