Alan Pace issues Burnley message following Man City FA Cup defeat | OneFootball

Burnley's 2023 FA Cup run ended in a crushing defeat on Saturday evening as Manchester City ran riot at the Etihad Stadium.

Playing at this stage of the competition for the first time since 2003, an away trip to the reigning Premier League champions always looked a daunting task and so it proved.

It was a decent opening half an hour from the Clarets, but once Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, the floodgates opened.

Haaland added to his tally just three minutes later, and although it was only 2-0 at half-time, in the second half, City really showed their class.

Indeed, further strikes came via Haaland to complete his hat-trick, a brace from Julian Alvarez and Cole Palmer to secure City a 6-0 victory on the night.

Despite the result, though, Burnley can hold their heads high - that's the feeling of Clarets chairman Alan Pace.

Pace took to social media after the match to say just how proud he was of the club and its supporters.

Indeed, on Instagram, Pace wrote: "So proud of our team and the grit they showed."

"We learn from this and we get better. And our 7,800 away fans were loud and proud the whole match.

"No matter the result, our claret and blue team, coaches, and supporters are class. UTC!"

Now they are out of the cup, Burnley's full attention will return to the Championship following the international break.

The Clarets sit top of the division at present with a commanding lead in both the race for the title and promotion to the Premier League.

The Verdict

It was a tough night for Burnley, but they can certainly feel no shame about being heavily defeated by Manchester City.

They were not the first club this week to be on the receiving end of a thrashing from the Citizens, never mind this season, and they most likely will not be the last.

It's great that Alan Pace is seeing the positives despite the loss and posting about his pride for the club and its supporters after the match.

Burnley are undoubtedly a club heading in the right direction and with Vincent Kompany at the helm, I'm sure they will have many big cup ties and matches to play in the future.