Manchester City led 2-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining on aggregate time, but the four-time defending champions leave west London with just a point after Brentford fought back to secure a 2-2 draw on Tuesday.
WATCH – Brentford v Manchester City Full Replay
It was an incredibly frustrating first hour for Manchester City, until Phil Foden made an impression and scored a brace in the 67th and 78th minutes. Kevin De Bruyne sent a precise cross into the penalty area to break the deadlock in the first, and Foden it cleared Savinho’s stored effort to provide (what they believed sufficient) security.
But Brentford hit back through Yoane Wissa a few minutes later and Christian Norgaard headed home Keane Lewis-Potter’s cross in stoppage time to deal Pep Guardiola’s side a deflating blow. Manchester City (35 points) remain 6th in the PL table, still two points behind Chelsea in 4th.
City have won just 1 of their last 7 PL away games (1W-2D-4L), and Tuesday’s game was only the third time they held a lead away from home since November began. Of course, that won’t feel like progress after giving up two goals after the 80th minute, and in truth they were quite fortunate to have not conceded before then. Pep Guardiola pointed to the absences of Rodri, John Stones and Ruben Dias as one reason his side capitulated late on, as both Brentford goals were scored from crosses that no one in blue could get a head to. Nathan Ake whiffed on the first goal and Manuel Akanji was simply beaten to the ball for the second. It was nothing new from City this season, but it still feels like a shock to the system every time it happens.
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Scorers: Phil Foden (66′, 78′), Yoane Wissa (82′), Christian Norgaard (90’+2)
Seconds after Brentford’s goal was erased, City were leading. A bit of copy-paste from De Bruyne, who we’ve only noticed struck this cross 5000 times over the years.
Damsgaard was offside a few passes before preparation, but the assistant referee felt the need to let the play continue for some reason.
Vitaly Janelt had no hope of catching up to the Brazilian in the open field, but he managed to push him just wide enough that the finish had to be millimeter-perfect, and it wasn’t quite. Probably City’s best chance of the game thus far.
After more than three hundred appearances in 7. 5 seasons, it seems that Kyle Walker is heading for the exit at Manchester City. The 34-year-old told Pep Guardiola he wanted to leave the club in recent days and remained in Manchester while the rest of the squad traveled to London for Tuesday’s game.
Flekken – Roerslev, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter – Norgaard, Janelt, Jensen, Damsgaard – Mbeumo, Wissa
Ortega – Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol – Kovacic, Nunes, Bernardo, De Bruyne – Savinho, Foden, Haaland
Start time: 2:30 p. m. ET on Tuesday Location: Gtech Community Stadium – West London TV Channel: Peacock Streaming: Premier League on Peacock
City beat Brentford 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium when Erling Haaland’s brace responded to Yoane Wissa’s first-minute goal on September 14 in Manchester. This was the game before Rodri suffered an ACL injury, and City haven’t been the same since the (soon-to-be) Ballon d’Or winner left the picture. But they beat Leicester City and West Ham to end 2024 and start 2025, and Pep Guardiola’s men will hope to build on that mini-streak when they visit the Gtech Community Stadium on Tuesday. City can move into fourth best with a win and Chelsea draw or lose against Bournemouth.
Brentford are having an atypically inconsistent season under Thomas Frank, living midtable and tempting the bottom-half more than the top. Goals have not been an issue, and the Bees have been much better at home than away. Can they scoop a memorable result on Tuesday?
OUT: Kristoffer Ajer (ankle), Ethan Pinnock (hamstring), Igor Thiago (knee), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Josh Dasilva (knee), Gustavo Nunes (back), Ryan Trevitt (Achilles)
OUT: Rodri (torn ACL – PLUS), John Stones (foot), Ruben Dias (muscle), Oscar Bobb (lower leg)
City have had little time to exercise and restart, and their intensity pieces beat Salford City in the FA Cup this weekend. Meanwhile, Brentford was expelled from the tournament. It may be close, but chances are Man City will be ready to keep their winning tactics intact rather than fall to a Bees team that hasn’t been consistent yet. Brentford 0-3 Manchester City.
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