Here’s how the Manchester City players fared in their first Premier League defeat of the season.
Manchester City suffered their first home defeat of the season after Ivan Toney scored three points for Brentford with a 98th-minute goal on Saturday afternoon.
The England international, overlooked for the World Cup, put his side ahead against the champions before Phil Foden equalized just before half-time. City limited themselves to frustrating attempts from distance before Toney scored in the closing stages.
Pep Guardiola spent much of the pre-match preparation time allaying fears that his side might be taking a dip, unknowingly or not, in anticipation of the upcoming World Cup. Rather, his hesitation referred to the kick-off time of 12:30 p.m. “An early start,” Guardiola mused, “is always a bit more complicated”. And so it was.
Brentford showed City’s inertia twice in the first six minutes. Frank Onyeka’s drive from midfield was not followed by a sky blue player as David Raya overcame the city press with a long ball. Ederson was quick to stop the midfielder and had to make another save shortly after.
Rico Henry then broke through on the left and delivered a cross into the box that Bryan Mbeumo set up for Toney. Despite the surprising abundance of space in City’s box, Toney rushed towards goal too quickly, allowing Ederson to save the ball.
Brazil’s number two was eventually beaten by the striker Gareth Southgate felt was unworthy of the World Cup. Raya hit a free kick from deep which Ben Mee nodded against Toney. After a clever nudge from Aymeric Laporte behind the defense, Toney lobbed the ball over Ederson into the goal (16th minute).
The Bees were quick to switch to a 5-3-2 formation, but didn’t want to sit back passively. But the City side’s urgency and accuracy, chasing from behind, made the visitors scramble to their keeper’s feet.
Half an hour into an eventful first half, Brentford survived a string of penalty decisions. Henry was perhaps the luckiest person to escape the view of the video screen. Bernardo Silva had put the ball in the arm of the full-back but the VAR ruled there was “no clear evidence” that the offense took place inside the box.
Brentford could not extend the lead until the half-time whistle. Kevin De Bruyne’s corner kick in added time landed at Foden, who sent the ball into the net with a brilliant half-volley.
A lengthy injury layoff as Laporte treated a lacerated eyebrow made for a rocky start to the second half. But shortly after an hour, City made a worthwhile move that was dripping with flow of the game. A zigzag course with lots of passes between the Brentford players under pressure culminated in Ilkay Gundogan losing a rare clear view of the goal.
The guests didn’t let themselves be disturbed after the lead, but they kept reminding City of the counterattack strength they have. Another laser-like pass from Raya saw Henry charge into City’s box, forcing Laporte into a desperate save while Toney lurked in the penalty area.
In the closing stages of an afternoon to forget, everyone threw forward and City were caught twice completely unmarked. Toney picked up a pass from Josh Dasilva but missed a chance to seal his hat-trick in the last ten minutes of added time. Nonetheless, it was enough for Brentford to beat City for the first time since 1989, dropping the hosts to second place at Christmas.
1. The grades of the city stars
TW: Ederson – Grade: 8/10 – Kept City in play with some excellent close-range saves.
RV: John Stones – Grade: 4/10 – When the opponent counter-attacked, withdrew slowly towards his own goal.
IV: Manuel Akanji – Grade: 3/10 – Jumped over by Ben Mee in Brentford’s opening goal as City conceded their third set piece of the season. Last season they conceded only one goal from a set piece.
IV: Aymeric Laporte – Grade: 6/10 – Appeared much more confident when the ball was on the ground than when he had to challenge Brentford’s athletic forwards in the air.
LV: Joao Cancelo – Grade: 3/10 – Everything seemed forced, including a poorly executed swallow for which he was rightly cautioned.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne – Grade: 6/10 – Charged and ran across the lawn but lacked the end product.
CM: Rodri – Grade: 7/10 – Always available as City’s pressure valve against Brentford’s intermittent pressing.
CM: Ilkay Gündogan – grade: 4/10 – pursued Brentford’s striker from midfield too laxly and missed the clearest chance for City.
RW: Bernardo Silva – Grade: 5/10 – Struggled when forced into one-on-one situations with Rico Henry, which is why he often sought out spaces without the opposing full-back.
ST: Erling Haaland – grade: 4/10 – repeatedly stormed into the insurmountable ranks of the red and white striped team.
LW: Phil Foden – Grade: 6/10 – Scored his goal with flying colours, but was otherwise not overly involved.
Substitute: Julian Alvarez (87th for Cancelo) – No grade
Coach: Pep Guardiola – Grade: 4/10 – He only made his first substitution in the 87th minute when he changed positions in his starting XI, but to no effect against a stubborn opponent.
Everything about Man City in 90min:
This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
