Whereas Manchester Metropolis may need been handed the possibility to briefly climb to the highest of the Premier League desk on Saturday lunchtime, the Sky Blues have been hit with a surprising last-gasp defeat on residence soil.
Failing to enter the World Cup’s festive break with an announcement on the Etihad, Pep Guardiola’s superstars have been ultimately left heartbroken in Manchester Metropolis due to Ivan Toney’s brace.
With Brentford’s attacking talisman ultimately bagging a exceptional 98th-minute winner, the defending Premier League champions now enter the five-week break sat 5 factors adrift of a high-flying Arsenal.
Watching their stellar successful run on the Etihad come to an abrupt finish on Saturday lunchtime, the Bees actually deserve loads of reward for a well-known show right here.
Inflicting one of many upsets of the season, we’ve taken a have a look at the primary speaking factors as Manchester Metropolis slipped on a significant banana pores and skin on residence soil.
Haaland and co miss a golden probability
Extending on their EFL Cup journey earlier within the week due to a 2-0 victory at residence towards Chelsea, Metropolis had discovered themselves having fun with an actual purple patch since opening November.
Cruising their technique to the knockout stage of this 12 months’s Champions League with out breaking a lot of a sweat, Guardiola’s aspect actually got here crashing again all the way down to earth on Saturday lunchtime.
Failing to make it 5 wins on the bounce earlier than heading into the World Cup break, the previous Barcelona boss now finds his aspect sat 5 factors adrift of the Gunners and dealing with what could possibly be an uphill wrestle.
Whereas followers across the Etihad may need been excited to see the red-hot Erling Haaland make a full return following a foot damage, their new attacking icon failed to check what had been a leaky Brentford defence.
Though England worldwide Phil Foden may need dragged Metropolis degree simply moments earlier than the interval with a thunderous strike, the Sky Blues failed to seek out any actual fluidity.
Brentford deserve all of the plaudits
Crashing out of the EFL Cup in midweek following a shock penalties defeat by the hands of League Two outfit Gillingham, Brentford would have identified that they confronted a monumental problem right here.
Nonetheless, regardless of being tipped as a landslide underdog on Saturday lunchtime, Frank’s aspect put in a stellar show away from west London they usually now enter the festive break with the temper of their camp at an actual excessive.
Though the Bees may need gained loads of plaudits when making their Premier League debut final season, there had been some hypothesis that Frank was below some current strain.
Together with their downbeat EFL Cup departure earlier within the week, Brentford made the journey to Manchester with only a single victory from any of their earlier 9 matchups throughout all codecs.
Nonetheless, whereas some of their camp may need been fearing that they could possibly be dragged right into a relegation scrap, Frank’s aspect couldn’t have wished for a extra emphatic technique to finish their prolonged rut.
Toney sends a message to Southgate
Lacking out on Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad on Thursday, Brentford’s attacking talisman actually had the texture of a participant trying to ship a message in Manchester.
Whereas the one-time Newcastle starlet may need seen the likes of Callum Wilson and Marcus Rashford edge him out of a ticket to Qatar, Toney confirmed Southgate what he may have missed out on right here.
Silencing the Etihad crowd after opening the scoring after simply 16 minutes, the 26-year-old has solely continued to impress since guiding Brentford to their first Premier League marketing campaign final season.
Though the Bees may need struggled with their consistency since getting back from September’s worldwide break, Toney has solely continued on an actual free-scoring run.
Together with now bagging three strikes in his back-to-back appearances over the previous few days, the 20-year-old has already notched 11 strikes throughout all competitions since opening the 2022/23 marketing campaign.
Now sat solely behind Haaland and Harry Kane within the race for this season’s Golden Boot, Toney shall be questioning what extra he may have completed.
Match Report:
Manchester Metropolis: Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Laporte, Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan, Silva, Haaland, Foden
Subs: Alvarez
Brentford: Raya, Zanka, Pinnock, Mee, Henry, Jensen, Janelt, Onyeka, Roerslev, Mbuemo, Toney
Subs: Wissa, Dasilva, Norgaard
Targets: Manchester Metropolis: Foden (45+1′) – Brentford: Toney (16′, 90+8′)
Yellow Playing cards: Manchester Metropolis: Haaland, Cancelo – Brentford: Mbeumo
Pink Playing cards: N/A
Referee: Peter Banks