(George Boyd celebrates his winner - image via Alex Livesy/Getty Images)
Numerically, City still have an outside chance of retaining the title, but their deplorable lack of desire and guidance is rendering that task all but impossible. On a day where Wilfried Zaha sacrificed his rib cage to ensure Crystal Palace took one step closer to safety and Arsenal produced some of their finest football all season to all but secure Champions League football for next term, Manchester City strolled off the Turf Moor pitch and into the comforting arms of another obscene weekly pay-check.
But forget the finances. Money can buy class, but it cannot guarantee dedication.
Manuel Pellegrini spoke of his desire to renew his contract at the Etihad Stadium before the game. Perhaps his comments were a little optimistic. Burnley manager Sean Dyche has been lauded for his aggression and resilience since gracing the league with his presence for the first time last August; on Saturday afternoon, his side played for him - they fought for survival in England's top division. Whilst City's Chilean boss may be charming, he is a lifeless spectator on the sidelines and that is definitely not a likable characteristic.
(Manuel Pellegrini cuts a lifeless figure in the dugout - image via Alex Livesy/Getty Images)
Dyche expertly set his team up to combat the league champion's creativity whilst Pellegrini threw eleven great players together in a 4-4-2 formation that has been both predictable and ineffective all season.
What's even more dispiriting was the inevitability of the result. I expected us to be flat, I expected us to struggle to break Burnley down and I expected us to be set up in a formation that nullifies the respective abilities of some of our best players.
The system forces David Silva out wide into a position where he is largely unproductive. In a central position just behind the striker, he is often unplayable and supplies City with their creativity. It's incredibly obvious, yet Pellegrini preferred to ignore the failings of his formation and substitute our best player with a man who has failed to make our squad for the last three weeks. It's clueless tactics from a manager who won two trophies in his first season last term.
(David Silva was restricted by Pellegrini's tactics on Saturday evening - image via Getty Images)
I can't deny the fantastic job Manuel Pellegrini has done at the club. He's stabilised a volatile dressing room and he got us playing the best football we've ever played last season, but this term, he is proving to be too ignorant and too naive.
I can accept finishing second place in the league and crashing out of the Champions League to Barcelona. I don't demand us to win everything every season. However, what I cannot accept is directionless football every single week and a blatant refusal to change it.
