Burnley gave their survival hopes an unexpected boost this evening as they ran out 1-0 winners over title-chasing Manchester City at Turf Moor.

George Boyd got the only goal of the game for the Clarets, firing in a low volley from the edge of the box shortly after the hour mark.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out during an important match at both ends of the table.

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BURNLEY

Goal

Tom Heaton: Made a good save from Dzeko in the first half before denying Aguero with a more routine stop moments later. Would have been expecting a much busier evening. (7/10)

Defence

Kieran Trippier: Burnley's best attacking outlet in the first half, always keen to get forward and whip dangerous, early balls into the box. The vast majority of the hosts' good work came down his flank. (7/10)

Michael Duff: Something of a surprise inclusion from Dyche's preferred XI, but justified his selection. Kept Aguero and Dzeko quiet and helped his side to a rare clean sheet. (7/10)

Jason Shackell: Led by example at the back, giving City's dangerous attack no joy at all. A fine performance in the centre of defence. (7/10)

Ben Mee: The weakest link of the back four as City repeatedly attacked down his flank. Mee stood up to the challenge fairly well for the most part, but was very fortunate not to concede a late penalty for a foul on Zabaleta. (6/10)

Midfield

George Boyd: The man of the match this evening. Led the way in a very good second-half performance from his side, chasing everything down and taking the game to City. Also scored the only goal of the game with a superb finish from the edge of the box. (8/10)

Scott Arfield: Worked so hard in the middle of the park to keep the likes of Silva and Toure subdued throughout. One cog in a fine team performance. (7/10)

David Jones: Like Arfield, put a great shift in against City's midfield. The energy that those two provided spread through the team and was, ironically, what City were missing. (7/10)

Ashley Barnes: Pushed out to the left and struggled to have much of an impact on proceedings. No faulting his effort, though, as with the rest of the team. (7/10)

Attack

Danny Ings: Kept buzzing around Demichelis, not giving the City defence a moment of rest. No goals, few chances but an impressive performance. (7/10)

Sam Vokes: Made his first Premier League start and provided a decent aerial threat to flick long balls on to Ings. Will improve the more he gets used to this level. (6/10)

Substitutes

Stephen Ward: Not introduced until the 87th minute as Dyche finally decided to settle for what he had. (6/10)

Steven Reid: Used as a time-wasting sub deep into injury time. (6/10)

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MAN CITY

Goal

Joe Hart: Nothing he could have done about the goal and didn't have much else to do besides picking the ball out of the back of his net. (6/10)

Defence

Pablo Zabaleta: Kept Barnes quiet on his flank and got forward whenever possible down the right wing. Unlucky not to win a penalty late on having been fouled by Mee in the box. (6/10)

Vincent Kompany: Recalled to the starting lineup but may feel that he should have done better with the clearance that led to Boyd's goal. (5/10)

Martin Demichelis: Dealt quite well with the threat of Ings and Vokes but was guilty of some sloppy moments in possession. One period of play, for example, saw him give the ball away twice when attempting a couple of simple passes in quick succession. (5/10)

Gael Clichy: Struggled to contain Trippier and Boyd down his wing and was unable to get forward as a result of the threat posed by those two. (5/10)

Midfield

Jesus Navas: Started the match brightly, getting the better of Mee on a few occasions, but quickly faded and failed to have much of an impact after the opening 20 minutes or so. (5/10)

Yaya Toure: This game was dying for someone to grab hold of it and start controlling things. Toure was the perfect candidate but he never stepped up to the plate during a quiet showing. (5/10)

Fernandinho: Was probably the most energetic of City's players, although that isn't saying much. Had a couple of wayward efforts from the edge of the box and tried to get his side going when the chips were down. (6/10)

David Silva: Nowhere near his best as he struggled to get into the match. Looked to be clean through on goal at one point, but a poor touch cost him a glorious chance. That summed his game up. (5/10)

Attack

Sergio Aguero: Another who failed to live up to his billing. Missed his side's best opening with a header at the back post but otherwise was limited largely to half chances. (5/10)

Edin Dzeko: Denied by Heaton in the first half with his only meaningful contribution before being taken off just past the hour. (5/10)

Substitutes

Wilfried Bony: Introduced for the final half an hour but barely got a sniff of a chance during his time on the field. (6/10)

Stevan Jovetic: Came on for the ineffective Silva 15 minutes from time and didn't offer much more than the man that he replaced. (6/10)

Frank Lampard: A short cameo for his 600th Premier League appearance, but that was the only notable thing about Lampard's introduction. (6/10)