Brentford 0, Manchester City 1
Phil Foden’s early goal earned Manchester City a tenth Premier League win in a row at Brentford leaving them eight points clear of Chelsea.
Embed from Getty ImagesFoden and Aymeric Laporte also had goals ruled out for offside while Kevin De Bruyne hit the post as City left their shooting boots at the Etihad after a busy weekend but still managed to extend their own record for Premier League wins in a calendar year to 36 from 44 games having scored 113 goals.
It was the fourth time that City boss Pep Guardiola’s team had put together a winning run of 10 games or more – no other manager in Premier League history had done it in more than two separate runs.
And Ex-United striker Danny Welbeck scored an injury time equaliser at Chelsea to leave City a towering eight points clear of their nearest rivals going into 2022.
And City are nine points ahead of Liverpool who have a game in hand but could be 12 points ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s men by the next time the Reds play.
But City had to battle for their win against a depleted Brentford side – making only 3 shots on target in a dour encounter despite hogging 76% of the possession.
In effect, City noted the danger from Brentford and took the sting out of the game with a battling performance, refusing to take risks after putting their noses in front.
Phil Foden admitted the game had been tough and was glad that City had come away with the points at Brentford, and said:
“Brentford made it difficult, they were a physical team but we dug in till the end.
“We can’t take our foot off the gas – we have to keep going.”
He started on the left but also had his time at centre forward for City, noting that it’s a position he could play in the future.
He added: “Maybe in the future I can move upfront but I’ll play where the manager wants me to – I’m adaptable.
“[The Premier League is] the most challenging league in the world, anyone can drop points at any time.”
His manager Pep Guardiola admitted the game wasn’t great but credited his team for getting the win in difficult circumstances.
He said: “It was really tough. We played with a lot of calm and credit.
On the VAR decision on Aymeric Laporte’s late goal that deprived City of a calmer finish, he said: “The margin for disallowed goals are so difficult. What is important is we didn’t concede much – all the teams who have come here have suffered a lot.”
But while he admitted that match winner Phil Foden was doing a good job at centre forward, he didn’t want to single him out, explaining: “Phil is a football player – we have no doubts about his quality.
“I think he likes it at false nine. Kevin [De Bruyne] was exceptional today again and in general the team was brilliant in many aspects even if the game was not brilliant.
And praising his opponents on the night he added: “They played in tight spaces and in that situation we had to be patient.
“We gave them stupid fouls – it’s something we have to improve.”
And he quickly denied that the title race was over, and stated: “There are 54 points to play for. We play again on the first of January against Arsenal.”
Phil Foden sets Manchester City on their way to a record breaking 2022
Kyle Walker and Rodri were still unavailable due to injury while Phil Foden and Jack Grealish were brought back in to the fold after recent off the pitch transgressions.
Nathan Ake, Foden, Grealish, and Gabriel Jesus were restored to the starting line-up as Pep Guardiola made four changes from the side that beat Leicester City 6-3 on Sunday.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling, and Riyad Mahrez dropped down to the bench as they travelled down to London to take on Brentford.
Ederson was the first keeper to make a save on the night after a battling start by Brentford, Frank Onyenke broke free down the City left and got a shot off which the Brazilian quickly got down to save.
Mathias Jensen also tried a cheeky chip from the halfway line to try and catch Ederson out but was wayward while Dias’ deflected block had to be clawed away by Ederson and Ake and Joao Cancelo had to head a looping ball off the line from Yoane Wissa.
All of this excitement for the home crowd was put to an end after Phil Foden volleyed home a precision pass by Kevin De Bruyne onto his boot from six yards out just 53 seconds after Cancelo’s header.
It was Foden’s seventh goal of the season but City had to be alert and Fernandinho headed the ball over his own goal as their hosts threatened from set pieces.
There were some unsavoury incidents in midfield as Ivan Toney and Fernandinho tangled but Cancelo, Jesus, Fernandinho, and Ruben Dias had shots blocked or saved in the same attack as Brentford managed to keep City out.
Foden and De Bruyne almost linked again at then start of the second half when the Belgian sent in another searching cross which the midfielder flicked just wide with a header.
De Bruyne himself tested Fernandez fro 25 yards out while Foden thought he scored with a header but was clearly offside.
The Belgian also hit the post and saw another shot go wide as City continued to be frustrated by Brentford and the home fans sensed a late upset as in the Chelsea game.
Sergi Canos want brought on for Wissa with 21 minutes to go – and he was followed by Mads Bidstrup for Onyeka 6 minutes later as Thomas Frank changed things late on.
Fernandinho blazed over from Foden’s corner but Guardiola still neglected to make changes despite the tense finish even after Saman Ghoddos replaced Dominic Thompson as Brentford completed their third and final change with 8 minutes to go.
With 3 minutes to go Aymeric Laporte thought he had secured the points after guiding De Bruyne’s free kick past – but a VAR check ruled it offside which gave the home fans something to hang on to until the visitors eked out their win.
GOAL – Brentford 0, Manchester City 1
Brentford 0, Man City 1: 16. Phil Foden volleyed home a low shot past Alvaro Fernandez from six yards out after a cross from the right by Kevin De Bruyne.
MATCH STATS – Brentford 0, Manchester City 1
Brentford: Fernandez, Pinnock, Jansson (C), Sorensen, Roerslev, Baptiste, Jensen, Onyeka (Bidstrup 75), Thompson (Ghoddos 82), Wissa (Canos 69), Toney
Brentford Subs not used: Cox, Forss, Peart-Harris, Stevens
Man City: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Ake, Fernandinho (C), De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Foden, Jesus, Grealish
Man City subs not used: Steffen, Carson, Sterling, Gundogan, Zinchenko, Mahrez, Mbete, Palmer
Goal: Foden 16
Referee: David Coote