Manchester City returned to gain tracks with a hard victory disputed 1-0 against Brentford at the Gtech community stadium, with an early strike from Erling Haaland proving enough to seal three points of the Vital Premier League.
The champions dominated in the first half, stifling Brentford with their heavy approach to possession.
Their early pressure was told in the ninth minute when Haaland, inevitably, has pierced. Picking a superbly weighted pass from Josko Gvardiol, the Norwegian turned Sepp van den Berg intelligently before shooting in front of Caoimhin Kelleher.
It was the ninth goal of the season of Haaland of the season, continuing its remarkable series of form and extending its sequence with five consecutive games on the match sheet.
The city’s midfielder orchestrated the tempo with a typical authority, led by Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders. Foden and Bobb have constantly exchanged in half-spaces, tormenting Brentford’s defense with a clear movement and a quick passage.
Foden, in particular, was a constant threat, forcing Kelleher to an excellent backup halfway to half before shortly missing the target twice.
Visitors’ control, however, was slightly compromised by an injury just before half an hour. Rodri, so often City’s metronome, pulled by tightening his hamstrings and had to be replaced by Nico Gonzalez.
The reverse did not disturb the flow of the city before the break, although Brentford offered little resistance – registering any touch in the opposition box during the first 45 minutes, a first undesirable in their History of Premier League.
City entered half-time with 73% possession and an expected objective (XG) of 0.80 against 0.06 from Brentford, fully deserving their advance of 1-0.
Disciplined display in the second half
The second half told another story. Brentford emerged with more intention, their impassionment and their more direct attacks.
A few minutes after restarting, a mixture of Gvardiol gifted in Igor Thiago a gold chance of leveling, but Gianluigi Donnarumma was held and refused the attacker in a crucial.
Andrews’ side continued to grow in belief. Schade and Kayode both had half posts while Brentford finally tested the defensive composure of City, while the replacement Mathias Jensen added an essential creativity of the midfield.
City, unusually for a Guardiola side, had trouble asserting all control and resorted to a more pragmatic form over the game.
Guardiola has made changes to stable things, presenting Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku to provide fresh legs and a counterattack outlet. Brentford, meanwhile, launched Dango Ouattara and Fabio Carvalho in a last push.
The best chance of the bees came in the time to stop when Schade charged the delayed authorization of Donnarumma – the distressing flying rebound of the post. It sums up their afternoon: courageous, but without the killer edge.
