Manchester City played their final match before the majority of their first-team squad jet off to the World Cup in Qatar next week, rounding off the first half of the campaign in disastrous fashion, losing 1-2 to Brentford at home.
The match began with the visitors on top, and they got their reward for their bright play when Ivan Toney got in front of Aymeric Laporte and looped a header over Ederson for 0-1.
Several Manchester City penalty shouts followed, most notably for a potential handball in the box by Rico Henry, but all of them were eventually waved away by VAR.
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It seemed as though the Blues would be going in at half time frustrated and behind, but then up stepped Phil Foden.
The Englishman saw the ball come his way from a corner, adjusted his body accordingly and struck a venomous half-volley past David Raya and into the net.
The second half was stunted from early on, as Aymeric Laporte took an elbow to the face from a set piece, with the medical staff taking almost ten minutes to apply treatment to the Spanish defender.
Manchester City dominated the entire rest of the match, and Brentford’s negative play paid off as they hit on the break through Ivan Toney to steal the three points.
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The result leaves City two points behind leaders Arsenal, having played a game more, with the Gunners taking on Wolves at Molineux on Saturday evening.
Here’s how we rated the players for Manchester City’s gut-wrenching defeat to Brentford!
Starting XI
Ederson - 7.5
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Needed a big display after Stefan Ortega impressed in midweek, and whilst his positioning wasn’t the best for Brentford’s goal, he made a number of other strong saves.
John Stones - 7
Provided a good level of control in his right-back role.
Manuel Akanji - 5
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Beaten too easily by Ben Mee for the goal, and struggled to get to grips with Ivan Toney.
Aymeric Laporte - 7.5
Maybe could have got tighter to Toney when he scored, but battled on through his knock and showed his defensive and passing prowess throughout.
João Cancelo - 6
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Got into plenty of advanced areas, couldn’t always pick the opening though.
Rodri - 7.5 (MOTM)
Picked up all the little loose balls and made the big tackles to keep City on top for the majority.
Kevin de Bruyne - 5
Just couldn’t find his radar. A number of passes missed that he would have found on another day.
Ilkay Gündogan - 5.5
Some fairly intricate play around the box, but his shooting on some decent chances was wayward.
Bernardo Silva - 6
Isolated for long spells. Did some good things with the ball when he got it, but that wasn’t often enough.
Erling Haaland - 5.5
Speaking of being rarely involved, Haaland barely got a sniff today. Brentford’s defenders were physical to the extreme when dealing with him, and it clearly worked.
Phil Foden - 6.5
Secure in possession without being adventurous. Hit a beautiful equaliser.
Substitutes
Julián Álvarez - 6
Couldn’t quite operate in the right spaces to see much of the ball.
Topics: Manchester City, Brentford, Premier League, Football, Pep Guardiola
