Manchester City get a narrow 1-0 win against Brentford without Kevin De Bruyne.
Manchester City won three important points against Brentford at home after winning 1-0 thanks to Erling Haaland. Man City have 56 points and are only a point behind Liverpool, who are still league leaders with 57 points. Man City sits second in the league table, while Arsenal is third with 55 points.
Pep Guardiola spoke about the struggle Man City had against Brentford. Guardiola said, “It was difficult and always will be against Thomas [Frank]. We made a good first half, the second was not so good. We were patient and we didn’t concede much. I think we had less chances in the second half than in the first. We struggled a little bit in the second half.”
Guardiola also praised Erling Haaland, who showed signs of tiredness but continued to score after suffering an injury. Guardiola said, “If someone doubts Erling [Haaland] then he will do his job. You make a mistake. He’s an incredible player. Never, ever criticize your top scorer, he will shut you down! Sooner or later is there. Comes from two months out, had an incredible, tough week last week, he lost his grandmother. [Erling] Haaland’s not in his best shape, but it’s normal after two months [out].”
Kevin De Bruyne started on the bench, and he didn’t come on at all in the game. Guardiola reveals that De Bruyne stayed on the bench because he could have been at risk of another injury. Guardiola said, “He [De Bruyne] has niggles in his hamstring area and I didn’t want to take any risk with him. He’s OK, he’s OK, it was more about prevention. He said he didn’t feel comfortable and the doctors said not to take a risk.”
Brentford manager Thomas Frank calls Haaland goal unfortunate as he believes his defender could’ve stopped Haaland from scoring
Brentford coach Thomas Frank talked after the game about the game and mentioned how his defender Ajer is quicker than Haaland. Frank said, “If Kristoffer Ajer doesn’t slip, I’m convinced [Erling] Haaland wouldn’t have scored. Haaland is quick, but Ajer is quicker… If you restrict Man City to two big chances before 70 minutes, you’ve done very well.” Ajer slipped while trying to stop Haaland from running towards goal. Haaland scored as he ran past Ajer and gave Man City the vital win.