49erssports.com - Manchester City will host Brentford at the Etihad Stadium in Week 16 of the 2022/2023 Premier League. This Premier League match ended bitterly for City. They lost to the guest with a score of 1-2.
Ivan Toney put Brentford ahead in the 16th minute, then Phil Foden equalized for City in the 45+5 minutes. City were forced to bite their fingers after Ivan Toney scored the second goal for Brentford in this match in the 90+8 minute.
City still has 32 points in second place. If standings leader Arsenal (34 points) later wins over host Wolverhampton, then the point difference between them will be five.
This is the last Premier League match before the 2022 World Cup break. Clubs will compete again starting in December 2022.
Manchester City Falls at Home
Brentford surprisingly took the initiative to attack. After several times pounding City's back line in the early minutes, Brentford was even able to steal the first goal. Ivan Toney, who was recently left out of England's squad for the 2022 World Cup, fired Brentford ahead at the reigning champions with a header.
City, of course, did not remain silent. However, City could only equalize at the end of the first half. Starting from Kevin De Bruyne's corner, which first hit Manuel Akanji's head, Foden equalized the score with his left foot.
After a draw in the first half, the match went tough in the second half. Citu dominated and created more chances, but their finishing was not optimal.
Erling Haaland performed well below his best standards. Throughout the match, the Premier League's temporary top scorer was recorded as only releasing one shot, and that too was off target.
City actually get disastrous in injury time. From Josh Dasilva's assist, Brentford scored the second goal as well as the decisive goal. That goal was scored by the same player who scored the opener, Ivan Toney.
Ivan Toney's brace also made The Citizens fall at the Etihad Stadium.
Starting XI and Match Statistics
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Aymeric Laporte, Joao Cancelo; Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan; Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva.
Coach: Josep Guardiola.
Brentford (3-5-2): David Raya; Zanka, Ben Mee, Ethan Pinnock; Mads Roerslev, Frank Onyeka, Vitaly Janelt, Mathias Jensen, Rico Henry; Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney.
Coach: Thomas Frank.
Manchester City Stats - Brentford
Ball possession: 74.6% - 25.4%
Shots: 29 - 10
Shots on target: 6 - 8
Yellow card: 2 - 2
Red card: 0 - 0.