Manchester City closed the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to just two points after a dominant second-half display secured a 3-0 win over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium.
Jeremy Doku broke the deadlock with a stunning curling effort into the top corner just after the hour mark. Erling Haaland then doubled the lead by bundling the ball over the line, before Omar Marmoush added a well-struck third in stoppage time to wrap up a vital victory for Pep Guardiola’s side.
The result puts pressure back on Arsenal in the title race, with City now awaiting their rivals’ result on Sunday.
Reflecting on the match, Brentford manager Keith Andrews expressed his frustration over a penalty decision:
“There was a lot going on for the officials. I’m one of the first to say what a difficult job they have to deal with, with the contentious issues and play acting. I felt the challenge on Schade in the second half was a penalty.”
Andrews added: “Coming away to Manchester City and losing a game when they are going for the title? We came here with an honesty in our approach and a belief that we could get something from the game, and that is not misplaced. Ultimately, we are disappointed we didn’t get something from the game.”
On his side’s performance, Andrews told Sky Sports: “We are playing against a team that is fighting for the title and you could see that in their urgency. I liked the way we played today, I think we showed a lot of courage around how we approached the game. It needed to be a near-perfect performance to win tonight. I don’t think the scoreline should fuel any thinking that it was a rout. The margins of the opportunities that we had and the decisions that were made are telling.”
City manager Pep Guardiola remained cautious about the title race, saying: “We will see, it was in our hands but now it is not. We did our job, we didn’t do it perfectly at Everton but today we came back. On Wednesday we will play Crystal Palace, who are a tough opponent.”
City now face a busy week, hosting Crystal Palace on Wednesday before the FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley next weekend. Brentford, still pushing for European football, also meet Crystal Palace in their next league outing.
