Erling Haaland continued his amazing performance at the beginning of the season, helping Manchester City secure a 1-0 victory against Brentford on October 5.
Haaland’s Decisive Early Goal
Haaland scored a goal early in the first half during the match in West London, helping Manchester City achieve their third victory in the last four Premier League games.
The amazing 25-year-old player has already scored 12 goals in just nine games this season, along with six goals in two matches for Norway. The only team that has managed to prevent him from scoring this season is Tottenham.
Manchester City bounced back after a challenging second half to secure a spot in fifth place in the Premier League standings.
Guardiola’s Assessment
“His contributions have been crucial for us this season, I believe. We really need more goals from our other players, although we did create several opportunities,” said City manager Pep Guardiola.
Pep Guardiola’s team has not lost in their last seven matches across all competitions since their defeat to Brighton back in August.
The city team is currently three points behind the top team, Arsenal. However, they head into the international break feeling more motivated after starting the season slowly.
Injury Concern for Rodri
The only worry for Guardiola was seeing Rodri leave the game in the first half due to an injury, as it looked like he might have hurt his hamstring.
The midfielder from Spain has had a tough time completing matches since returning from surgery on his knee. He made his comeback during the Club World Cup last summer, but he hasn’t been able to play for the full length of games.
Rodri, who was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 2024 for his outstanding performance, could only play for an hour in the match against Monaco. This was after he had missed City’s last two games.
“Guardiola expressed hope that Rodri’s recent injury won’t be serious.”
Match Analysis and Historical Context
Erling Haaland showed his usual scoring ability during a match against Monaco on October 1, which ended in a 2-2 tie. Despite taking the lead two times, Manchester City, led by their coach Pep Guardiola, allowed Monaco to equalise in the final moments of the game.
They made sure not to make the same mistakes they did in the Champions League as they celebrated Guardiola’s 250th win in the Premier League.
Guardiola’s Milestone Achievement
Pep Guardiola has achieved a remarkable milestone in coaching, reaching a significant achievement in just 349 games. To put that into perspective, two legendary managers, Alex Ferguson from Manchester United and Arsene Wenger from Arsenal, took over 400 games to reach the same point in their careers. This highlights just how quickly Guardiola has made his mark in the world of football.
“It’s an honour to be with Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson,” Pep Guardiola said. “I’ll invite them to a nice dinner.”
“I’m thrilled to be a part of such an important moment in Premier League history. I’m really happy about it. Now, let’s aim for 250 more wins!”
Tactical Decisions and Match Highlights
Coach Guardiola unexpectedly decided to keep Belgian player Jeremy Doku on the sidelines, even though he has been performing really well at the start of the season.
Even without Doku, City dominated the game in the first half.
Josko Gvardiol missed a great opportunity when he headed the ball directly at Brentford’s goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher, during a corner kick taken by Phil Foden.
Breaking the Brentford Curse
Haaland was on the hunt for his first goal in the Premier League at the Gtech Community Stadium. This was one of just two stadiums, alongside Anfield, where he had not yet found the net in the top league.
The striker from Norway scored just nine minutes into the game, finally getting his first goal at the Brentford stadium.
Gvardiol made a great long pass that surprised Brentford’s defenders, Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins. This allowed Haaland to sprint ahead and score a powerful goal, sending the ball past the goalkeeper, Kelleher.
Erling Haaland has been incredibly successful in London, scoring an impressive 21 goals in just 22 league matches. His performance is outstanding even when compared to his already high standards!
Second Half Resilience
Rodri’s less-than-ideal comeback from a serious knee injury that kept him out for most of last season took a big turn for the worse when he had to leave the game in the 22nd minute due to an injury.
The city team worked to move on after losing their important star player. Oscar Bobb made a great setup for Foden, but Foden wasn’t able to score because his shot missed the goal.
Brentford’s Fightback
Brentford made a strong move forward just after the second half began.
Igor Thiago managed to outpace the defenders from City, but he missed his shot just as Gianluigi Donnarumma came charging out to make a save.
City was struggling to keep control of the game, and Brentford made another attempt to score when Kevin Schade sent in a cross that Michael Kayode headed just over the goal.
Kayode’s powerful throw-ins were causing problems for City’s defense, but the away team stayed strong and secured a much-needed win.
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