When Pep Guardiola’s achievements are measured in May, the second half of this match might prove to be the most vital 45 minutes of all.

Manchester City had been booed off at the interval. Fernandinho’s third red card in the space of six weeks had ensured they were down to 10 men and they had been as formless and incoherent as they had been during the defeat at Liverpool on New Year’s Eve. They were in fifth place. A game against a team that had picked up one point away from Turf Moor all season had spiralled wildly out of control. Had they lost this match, their season would have been in danger of collapse. They finished the game in third, seven behind Chelsea.

It was some salvage operation that began with Guardiola bringing on David Silva and Sergio Aguero, who along with John Stones had been the casualties of the defeat at Anfield. The fact that Guardiola was prepared to drop three of his most influential footballers demonstrated the manager’s mood and his ruthlessness.

Fernandinho is shown red for his challenge on Johann Gudmundsson (Getty)

Aguero scored the second, and as it turned out, the decisive goal of the afternoon. It was his 153rd for Manchester City, drawing him level with Colin Bell, and it was the kind only a natural-born striker could have scored.

City were already one up through Gael Clichy’s improbable strike from the edge of the area when Ben Mee’s error allowed Raheem Sterling a clear run on goal. As Tom Heaton spread himself, the toe of Sterling’s boots caught in the turf. The ball came back to Aguero. The angle was tight and there were two defenders on the line. The shot smacked against the inside of the post and bisected them both.

Raheem Sterling attempts to get away from Ben Mee (Getty)

It may have been easier for Sean Dyche to keep his temper during the interval but his Burnley side came out to face a delicate equation. A point at the Etihad Stadium would count as a very good day’s work – would they risk exposing themselves and go for all three?

Burnley dallied and were punished in the most unlikely way. The way Clichy struck the ball from the corner of the 18-yard line into the corner of Heaton’s net belied the fact that this was his first goal at the Etihad Stadium. He had joined the club five years ago.

Manchester City’s goals made Burnley’s minds up for them. They pulled one back in extraordinary fashion. Claudio Bravo, who tipped a shot from Michael Keane over the bar in stoppage time, dropped a relatively straightforward ball. Nicolas Otamendi cleared it off the line, Mee shot it back towards goal and the referee Lee Mason ruled it had crossed the line.

Sergio Aguero celebrates his goal for City (Reuters)

Despite the fact that goal-line technology had been used to make the decision, Manchester City’s players decided to besiege Mason’s assistant in a futile attempt to have it reversed.

There had been similar protests when Fernandinho was shown a straight red card in the 32nd minute after he launched himself at Johann Berg Gudmundsson. The Brazilian’s feet were off the ground when he began the tackle and on the turf when he finished it. It was probably a straight orange but by losing control, Fernandinho, captaining Manchester City, had been stupidly reckless.

Guardiola has a policy of never commenting on refereeing decisions but his reactions demonstrated what he thought of Mason’s decision. He tore off the cagoule he was wearing, waved his arms around and launched into a furious discussion with anyone who would listen.

Ben Mee celebrates after grabbing one back for the visitors (Reuters)

If his dismissal in the 1-1 draw at Borussia Monchengladbach was soft, this was a poorly-judged tackle which will lead to another ban – this time for four matches.

It was Manchester City’s seventh red card of the season which is some total under a manager not associated with tackling.

At the final whistle the whole stadium dissolved into a relieved cheer. This was proof of what Guardiola had been told in July. Nothing in this league can be taken for granted.

Manchester City: (4-2-3-1) Bravo; Sagna, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy; Toure, Fernandinho; Navas (Silva ht), De Bruyne, Sterling (Stones 89); Iheanacho (Aguero ht). Substitutes: Caballero (g), Zabaleta, Nolito, Garcia.

Burnley: (4-4-2) Heaton; Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward; Boyd, Arfield (Bamford 88), Hendrick, Gudmundsson (Defour 59); Barnes (Vokes 68), Gray. Substitutes: Robinson (g), Tarkowski, Darikwa, O’Neill.