Man City close gap on Arsenal with Brentford win | OneFootball

Manchester City kept the Premier League title race alive with a 3-0 win over Brentford at the Etihad, cutting Arsenal’s lead at the top to just two points.

After Monday’s damaging draw at Everton, Pep Guardiola’s side knew another slip-up could all but end their hopes of retaining the title. For long spells, though, Brentford frustrated City and threatened to make life uncomfortable once again.

Jeremy Doku was the man who finally broke the tension just after the hour mark. The Belgian winger cut inside from the left and curled a brilliant effort into the far corner, producing a finish remarkably similar to his late equaliser at Everton earlier in the week.

Brentford had their moments, with Igor Thiago forcing a sharp save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but City gradually took control. Erling Haaland then doubled the lead with 15 minutes remaining, scrambling the ball over the line after Brentford failed to clear inside the box.

Substitute Omar Marmoush added a third deep into stoppage time after a clever assist from Haaland, with the extra goal potentially important in the title race as City now trail Arsenal by just one on goal difference.

The pressure now shifts back onto Mikel Arteta’s side ahead of their trip to West Ham.

Incidents: The story of the match

Manchester City Official Line-ups:

Gigi Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, Nathan Aké, Marc Guéhi, Rayan Cherki, Bernardo Silva, Tijjani Reijnders, Nico O’Reilly, Antoine Semenyo, Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku

Brentford Official Line-ups:

Caoimhin Kelleher, Michael Kayode, Kristoffer Ajer, Nathan Collins, Aaron Hickey, Mikkel Damsgaard, Yehor Yarmoliuk, Mathias Jensen, Kevin Schade, Igor Thiago, Keane Lewis-Potter

1':

The match begins

Manchester City leads Brentford 1-0 after Jérémy Doku scores with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box into the top right corner following a corner kick.

60':

GOAL Manchester City: Jérémy Doku (Manchester City) scores!

Jérémy Doku scores goal number 5 in the competition (27 matches)

Manchester City lead Brentford 2-0. Erling Haaland scores for Manchester City with a right-footed shot from a few meters to the center of the goal.

75':

GOAL Manchester City: Erling Haaland (Manchester City) scores!

Erling Haaland scores goal number 26 in the competition (34 matches) Erling Haaland scores goal number 162 for his team (197 matches)

90 +2':

GOAL Manchester City: Omar Marmoush (Manchester City) scores!

Omar Marmoush scores goal number 2 in the competition (19 matches)

998':

The referee whistles for the end of the match