Five Things Learned: Brentford 0-1 Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City enter the international break unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions after a narrow 1-0 win over Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The Blues got off to a flying start in west London as who else but Erling Haaland found the back of the Brentford net after nine minutes. The Norwegian latched onto a long ball from Josko Gvardiol, outmuscled Sepp van den Berg and hammered home remorselessly to break the deadlock.

The Norwegian is simply in the form of his life as Sunday’s winner against Brentford made it nine league goals in seven games for Haaland. However, things took a slight turn for the worse soon after the opener as Rodri pulled his hamstring and was replaced by Nico Gonzalez, with the Ballon d’Or winner going straight down the tunnel for treatment.

Despite this, City continued to build on this positive start in the first-half as the visitors continued to probe and push for a second whilst also completely nullifying any of the Bees’ threat.

Keith Andrews’ side failed to touch the ball in the opposition box in the opening 45 minutes – the first time this has ever happened for Brentford at their current ground – proving just how dominant City were.

There were only two blemishes on that otherwise perfect half of football, one being that not one of City’s flurry of efforts increased the deficit. The visitors’ best effort in the latter stages of the first-half came to Tijjani Reijnders, whose volley was kept out with a superb stop by Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

Those in blue came into the interval with their slender lead intact and a very positive first 45 minutes to build on. The second-half, however, was of a very different complexion. Just three minutes after the restart, parity was nearly restored as a calamitous error from Josko Gvardiol set Igor Thiago through on goal.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, however, refused to be beaten, making himself huge to close down the angle and denying the Brazilian with an excellent save. This set the precedent for the remainder of the game.

City struggled to create anything of any real substance and their play became increasingly sloppy and frantic, allowing the home side to build momentum and keep the pressure on.

It wasn’t a mesmerising performance by any means, but the visitors stood firm and resolute – even with some very nervy moments towards the end, they held out for a huge three points on the road and showed immense grit and determination to see the game out.

Here are five things we learnt from City’s vital victory over Brentford!

1. Erling Haaland is reaching new heights!

New week, same story: Manchester City’s striking viking was the difference-maker yet again as the phenomenon netted his ninth of the league campaign and a staggering 94th Premier League goal in blue – a superb finish as per usual from the Norwegian. Everything that man touches seems to turn to gold at the moment!

But it’s not only his sensational goalscoring form that deserves praise; his all-round play has improved drastically in all areas of the pitch – most notably perhaps, defensively.

Even as a striker, Haaland seems to be just as imperious defensively as he is in the final third; the work ethic is outstanding, covering every blade of grass, clearing dangerous set pieces, winning fouls and doing absolutely everything he possibly could to drag his team over the line.

The 25-year-old was previously heralded as a world-class goal scorer but received heavy scrutiny for his general play; that, however, now seems to be reaching a similar standard. If this is even deemed as possible, it seems that the best striker in the world seems to be evolving even further, revealing more weapons in his arsenal.

The defensive work has not gone unnoticed, as he has been absolutely integral in seeing games out for Pep Guardiola’s side.

City’s ninth-record goal scorer is becoming a menace in all his attributes in addition to finding the back of the net and may even be rising above the form of his astonishing 2022-23 debut season in England, which will undoubtedly prove ominous for the rest of the division.

2. Gianluigi Donnarumma: The £26M steal

Since his arrival, Donnarumma has proven everybody who questioned his signing wrong tenfold. It has now become abundantly clear that it was simply irresistible for Guardiola and the Manchester City board to secure the arrival of the Italy captain.

The 26-year-old has been a colossus in between the sticks, cementing himself as a huge presence in this side, showcasing dominance in set pieces, great command of his 18-yard box and of course, world-class shot-stopping.

The visit to west London was no different, as City’s giant last line of defence proved pivotal yet again, producing a brilliant save to deny Thiago an equaliser early in the second-half.

With City winning narrowly on the road, there is no telling what might have happened if the summer recruit hadn’t come to the rescue yet again, as he has on a multitude of occasions since his debut.

There was a hugely hyperbolised narrative in the summer arising in regard to Donnarumma’s footwork, and yes, there were instances that could’ve proved costly in this game due to a mishap with the ball at his feet.

In spite of this, it is obvious to most now that the drawbacks in that area are far outweighed by his heroics as a conventional goalkeeper – as the recent winner of the Yashin Trophy proved why he was worthy of such accolades. A £26 million fee for possibly the best goalkeeper on the planet – not bad business at all!

3. Marked improvement

This is a Manchester City side in transition, with wholesale changes in personnel in many areas – and it is not the finished article by any means, with many cracks in the armour at present.

However, it is evident there has been substantial improvement in this new campaign in comparison to the struggles of the one gone by and that was evident in the victory over Brentford. This is emphasised by comparing the two most recent away clashes against the Bees.

Last season, City dominated the ball and obtained themselves a two-goal deficit at the GTech Community Stadium but when it mattered most, a far too familiar story unfolded yet again. The visitors let the lead slip in stoppage time away at Brentford in January after a horrendous capitulation, coming away with just a point.

This weekend, however, was a different story. The Blues had themselves a slender lead but this time instead of unravelling, they soldiered on and showed defensive prowess to fight and secure all their points on the road. An exponential growth from the last campaign.

It is still very early in this new era to make assumptions or overanalyse but it is clear that there is vast development in a short period of time, especially in defensive situations in which the Blues seem significantly stronger.

If Guardiola’s men can build on this upward trajectory, they may just have a chance to throw themselves into the mix at the top of the table as they bid, however ambitious this may be, to reclaim their title from those in Merseyside. Seven games is too early to be having title conversations, but this side is full of serial winners. Remain optimistic, Blues!

4. Pep Guardiola: Mancunian Mastermind

Away from the game itself, we thought it fitting to pay homage to a footballing philosopher in Pep Guardiola, a man who revolutionised the way the beautiful game was played, rightfully propelling himself to be compared with the world’s best coaches after immeasurable success at every club at which he has taken the helm – most recently and most significantly his blue-shaded footballing dynasty born in Manchester.

With that invaluable victory at the Gtech Community Stadium, the Catalan reached a huge landmark, achieving his 250th Premier League victory – faster than any other manager in the history of the English top-flight.

Touching on the milestone after Sunday’s win, Guardiola said: “I will invite all of them to dinner. I think it’s an honour to sit at the table with them, so it’s not bad. It’s 10 seasons, and 250 victories is a lot. We started for one reason – because we won a lot. I didn’t know, but it’s nice.”

Guardiola has not only steered City to glory but changed the game and rewrote the history books in the process. It only seemed right to recognise this huge achievement in his career: 250 wins and 18 major trophies for the Sky Blues. There will never be another coach like him. “We’ve got Guardiola. So glad you’re mine!”

5. A job done on the road

It wasn’t a performance that covered the visitors in glory by any stretch of the imagination but what’s most important is that in a tough away fixture when it was absolutely essential that they got all the points – following the recent dip in form from title holders Liverpool – Manchester City did, in fact, secure the all-important win.

Those three points take Manchester City to fifth place in the table with 13 points, three behind the current league leaders Arsenal. However, Guardiola’s side are due back in action both Arsenal and Liverpool after the international break.

This implies that if Manchester City were to emerge victorious against Everton by 2+ goals on October 18, they would rise to the top of the league on goal difference. After a very poor start, the ship has certainly been steadied. Massive points as we head into the second international break, as the players go into their national teams on a high following that victory.

What is absolutely necessary now, however, is that all of City’s travelling players stay fit and firing whilst travelling with their nations so both they and the club can aim to build up a head of steam and continue their unbeaten streak as they return to action against the Toffees in a few weeks’ time.