Manchester City 1-2 Brentford: What Were The Main Talking Points As The Bees Pull Off An Etihad Stunner?

While Manchester City might have been handed the chance to briefly climb to the top of the Premier League table on Saturday lunchtime, the Sky Blues were hit with a stunning last-gasp defeat on home soil.

Failing to enter the World Cup’s festive break with a statement at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola’s superstars were eventually left heartbroken in Manchester City thanks to Ivan Toney’s brace.

With Brentford’s attacking talisman eventually bagging a remarkable 98th-minute winner, the defending Premier League champions now enter the five-week break sat five points adrift of a high-flying Arsenal.

Watching their stellar winning run at the Etihad come to an abrupt end on Saturday lunchtime, the Bees certainly deserve plenty of praise for a famous display here.

Causing one of the upsets of the season, we have taken a look at the main talking points as Manchester City slipped on a major banana skin on home soil.

Haaland and co miss a golden chance

Extending on their EFL Cup adventure earlier in the week thanks to a 2-0 victory at home against Chelsea, City had found themselves enjoying a real purple patch since opening November.

Cruising their way to the knockout stage of this year’s Champions League without breaking much of a sweat, Guardiola’s side certainly came crashing back down to earth on Saturday lunchtime.

Failing to make it five wins on the bounce before heading into the World Cup break, the former Barcelona boss now finds his side sat five points adrift of the Gunners and facing what could be an uphill struggle.

While fans around the Etihad might have been excited to see the red-hot Erling Haaland make a full return following a foot injury, their new attacking icon failed to test what had been a leaky Brentford defence.

Although England international Phil Foden might have dragged City level just moments before the interval with a thunderous strike, the Sky Blues failed to find any real fluidity.

Brentford deserve all the plaudits

Crashing out of the EFL Cup in midweek following a shock penalties defeat at the hands of League Two outfit Gillingham, Brentford would have known that they faced a monumental challenge here.

However, despite being tipped as a landslide underdog on Saturday lunchtime, Frank’s side put in a stellar display away from west London and they now enter the festive break with the mood in their camp at a real high.

Although the Bees might have gained plenty of plaudits when making their Premier League debut last season, there had been some speculation that Frank was under some recent pressure.

Along with their downbeat EFL Cup departure earlier in the week, Brentford made the trip to Manchester with just a single victory from any of their previous nine matchups across all formats.

Nevertheless, while some in their camp might have been fearing that they could be dragged into a relegation scrap, Frank’s side couldn’t have wished for a more emphatic way to end their extended rut.

Toney sends a message to Southgate

Missing out on Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad on Thursday, Brentford’s attacking talisman certainly had the feel of a player looking to send a message in Manchester.

While the one-time Newcastle starlet might have seen the likes of Callum Wilson and Marcus Rashford edge him out of a ticket to Qatar, Toney showed Southgate what he could have missed out on here.

Silencing the Etihad crowd after opening the scoring after just 16 minutes, the 26-year-old has only continued to impress since guiding Brentford to their first Premier League campaign last season.

Although the Bees might have struggled with their consistency since returning from September’s international break, Toney has only continued on a real free-scoring run.

Along with now bagging three strikes in his back-to-back appearances over the past few days, the 20-year-old has already notched 11 strikes across all competitions since opening the 2022/23 campaign.

Now sat only behind Haaland and Harry Kane in the race for this season’s Golden Boot, Toney will be wondering what more he could have done.

Match Report:

Manchester City: 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

Goals: Manchester City: Foden (45+1′) – Brentford: Toney (16′, 90+8′)

Yellow Cards: Manchester City: Haaland, Cancelo – Brentford: Mbeumo

Red Cards: N/A

Referee: Peter Banks