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After a biblical downpour, the skies cleared, and Manchester City executed the gameplan: secure a win and three points to keep their breath on Arsenal’s neck.
The clincher arrived via Erling Haaland’s 26th Premier League goal – as with his side’s performance this was hardly pretty but no one in blue cared. Antoine Semenyo marauded down the right, his cross hit at least one Brentford body, the ball came to Haaland who, with a second stab at it, bundled home from close-range, the No 9 facing away from goal.
Pep Guardiola jumped into the arms of his assistant, Kolo Touré, and City could relax and tune into Arsenal’s trip on Sunday to West Ham praying the Irons do them a favour.
The deficit is down to two points but each team has played 35 matches so the Gunners cannot be caught if West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace are beaten. Yet City retain hope, and as they did not score until the scintillating Jérémy Doku’s solo effort on the hour, will be content. Omar Marmoush wrapped up the scoring in added time.
Once more they missed the control of Rodri, so meant played in flashes. One came when the menacing Doku muscled into the area along the left and flipped the ball to Haaland: the big No 9 blazed at goal but a deflection, plus Caoimhín Kelleher’s hands, saved the visitors.
Brentford showed why only one of their last eight in the competition had been a defeats, as they were a blend of competitiveness and pressing that caused City to unload from distance. Tijjani Reijnders (twice), Rayan Cherki, Doku and Bernardo Silva were all thwarted, from range, in a sign of frustration.
Brentford could take the contest to them and did, primarily, in a first half passage. This featured Gianluigi Donnarumma flapping at a long throw, the ball bouncing off Matheus Nunes and on to Silva before Nunes hoofed clear. Then, Nunes passed straight to Mikkel Damsgaard and as Guardiola watched dismayed, the Bees broke, but they lacked teeth.
Cherki joined the right-back in the clumsy stakes when a heavy touch caused him to foul Aaron Hickey down the Brentford left: Mathias Jensen dropped the free-kick into City’s area and a diving Donnarumma pushed it away. When Michael Kayode arrowed in another long throw from the right, those in blue again scrambled the ball out.
City’s stop-start mode followed the narrow 1-0 at Burnley and Monday’s 3-3 draw at Everton and showed a loss fluidity precisely when not required – in the defining phase of the championship race.
They carried the greater threat, though – usually through Doku, who continually pierced Hickey’s right-back corridor to shoot, or create. Nico O’Reilly, Silva and Haaland were all found – the striker failed to finish, as he did with an earlier header that found only into Kelleher’s hands.
Guardiola had dropped a surprise by selecting Reijnders in place of Nico González. The midfielder’s previous league start was the 2-0 win over the bottom team, Wolves, on 24 January yet a pass he slide-ruled into O’Reilly’s feet in the area answered why, maybe, he was preferred over Mateo Kovacic.
Yet when the sides changed ends, City had 45 minutes to break the deadlock. They nearly conceded when a slick Brentford free-kick routine began by Jensen on the right ended with Kristoffer Ajer agonisingly close to slipping in behind. Then, Igor Thiago on 22 league goals to Haaland’s 25 (at this juncture), galloped in and unloaded and required Donnarumma and Marc Guéhi to keep City intact.
City were entrenched in unfamiliar territory – their own – and so 59 minutes in Guardiola acted. Off came Reijnders for Phil Foden and Cherki for Marmoush. It worked instantly as Brentford lost concentration. City had claimed a corner before the substitutions and Silva now took it from the left, short to Doku.
The No 11 danced with the ball before hitting it forward, playing an inadvertent one-two with Damsgaard. Then, as with his late equaliser at Everton, he cut inward and curved a peach beyond Kelleher that kissed the far left of the net.
Cue a Guardiola jig and the ranks of City fans hitting ecstasy regarding a goal felt in the red zone of north London. The volume ratcheted and City were roared on, Foden going close to registering the second. Now, though, Brentford knifed through the home defence: Dango Outtara put Thiago in, he tapped to Kevin Schade, and the No 7 went to ground in the area under Nunes’ attentions. Brentford manager KeithAndrews screamed for a penalty but the video assistant referee backed the referee, Michael Salisbury, in not awarding the spot-kick.
After Haaland’s finish, Foden’s clever feet drew a sharp Kelleher save, before Marmoush’s third upped the goal difference.
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