Manchester City 1 Brentford 0: City player ratings from a hard-earned City win | OneFootball

Manchester City 1 (Erling Haaland 9′)

Brentford 0

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City beat Brentford 1-nil at the GTech Community Stadium. A ninth-minute goal from Erling Haaland was enough to separate the two teams.

For Manchester City, the game was a tale of two halves. They dominated the first half, and should have put the game to bed by halftime. Pep Guardiola’s side dominated possession and successfully nullified the threat of Brentford in a dominant first half display. Keith Andrews’ side made a game of it in the second half, but outside of one quality Gianluigi Donnarumma saved they failed to really stretch the City defence outside of set pieces.

The City player ratings reflect the nature of Manchester City’s performance. City weren’t perfect but they did what they to do to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches in all competitions.

City player ratings

Gianluigi Donnarumma-7/10: Made one crucial save and wasn’t flustered by Brentford’s corners and long throw ins.

Matheus Nunes-7/10: I thought Nunes was good at right-back. Did his job well defensively and offered something in possession.

Ruben Dias-7.5/10: -Made several crucial challenges and led his team superbly.

Josko Gvardiol-6.5/10: For the majority of the game he was superb. He set up Erling Haaland’s goal and defended well. His error that the almost provided Brentford with an equaliser so he loses marks for that.

Nico O’Reilly-7/10: -Another good performance from O’Reilly today. Was strong defensively and offered something going forward.

Rodri-N/A: Started the game brightly but unfortunately had to be taken off due to what seemed to be a hamstring injury after 21 minutes. That was a big blow for him and his team.

Tijjani Reijnders-7/10: Reijnders’ first-half performance was his best display since his debut against Wolves. He got himself into dangerous positions and should have scored before halftime. He drifted out of the game in the second half.

Phil Foden-6.5/10: Foden wasn’t poor by any stretch. But his finishing was just off and his decision making wasn’t quite there.

Oscar Bobb-8/10: I thought Bobb was Manchester City’s most dangerous attacking player while on the pitch. He gave Aaron Hickey fits and, on another day, could have had an assist or two. Manchester City’s man-of-the-match in my opinion.

Savinho-6/10: The Brazilian international had opportunities but just didnt get into the game as he would’ve liked.

Erling Haaland-7.5/10: Scored the only goal of the game and was always to help his team defensively when required.

Substitutes

Nico-7.5/10: Replaced Rodri in Manchester City’s midfield after 21 minutes. Went about his work well and he looks to be improving quickly as a player.

Jeremy Doku-N/A: Came on late and has some nice touches.

Bernardo Silva-7/10: He brought stability to the pitch when Manchester City needed it. That was pleasing to see and I thought his cameo role was vital to his team.