Haaland bulldozes Brentford to keep the City ball rolling
THIS exact week last year, Manchester City drew two matches. One at Nottingham Forest, another in Leipzig. Erling Haaland was guilty of missing chances he apparently never misses. Cheap goals conceded. City were at a crossroads.
So much so, that these pages read that ‘nothing is coming particularly easy for them at the moment’ and 12 months on, very little has changed in the general dynamic of a February where title rivals seem to get stronger and the serial winners need to dig deep to locate desire that has dragged them to so much gold.
It felt like that had vanished for a spell in 2023. We know how that all ended. What for this season? That is an unknown but the difference is that the second draw of the week turned into victory. It turned into the roof coming off in a collective vent of angst and turned into
Haaland answering critics by bulldozing the winner on 71 minutes.
Still alive here, Manchester City, as a man once said. Pep Guardiola kicked the bucket — the Gatorade bucket in his technical area — when Haaland wheeled away once he confidently stroked past an impressive Mark Flekken. Palpable relief as more dropped points with Liverpool and Arsenal in their form felt less than palatable.
There has been a touch of frost to Guardiola in recent weeks. Which, on the surface, might seem a little bit strange. Fifteen unbeaten in all competitions going into this, still very much bang in the middle of an absorbing title race. But even with those favourable comforts, City’s boss has appeared fidgety, distracted.
He’s had the feeling that observers roll their eyes when City roll on, believing in inevitabilities and the predictability of a procession. He’s lamented that some think it’s easy and, almost as if to prove it actually isn’t, laboured to the weekend draw with Chelsea.
That performance, and the accumulation of matches, brought big changes. Kevin De Bruyne resided on the bench, with City’s only available left back Nathan Ake.
The champions were not shaken for that, though, and Brentford mustered the best of it early on.
Ivan Toney whistled a free kick over. John Stones’ last-ditch challenge prevented Yoane Wissa from tapping in and Frank Onyeka fluffed when clean through.
Onyeka was set clear by Wissa after a punt from their own corner flag. Kyle Walker was left floundering, as he was when Raheem Sterling scored at the same end a few days earlier. This time, City survived.
Their only moment of real danger came when Wissa threw himself in front of a Phil Foden drive.
Thomas Frank said beforehand that there is little point looking backwards at the relegation zone and their attitude to approaching this felt similar.
City were beginning to click by the time Guardiola was spinning to the crowd, telling them to calm down. Bernardo Silva inexplicably headed wide from nine yards following Walker’s centre, Flekken was twice alive to Ruben Dias efforts at the back post and had acrobatically tipped over Manuel Akanji’s 25-yard effort.
One huge moment did arrive though and Oscar Bobb couldn’t believe the outcome. He’d done everything right. As the ball landed, he dropped a shoulder inside the box. The goal gaped, he passed towards it. Ben Mee — a City academy graduate — scrambled back to hook off the line.
It was becoming nervy around these parts. They sang for De Bruyne, who had not even been to warm up. Bobb — whose first league start brought encouragement without fireworks — was sacrificed for Jeremy Doku.
Impetus arrived. Haaland finally escaped Kristoffer Ajer, the defender slipping in response to his heavy first touch. And he galloped forward. He’d fluffed plenty recently but not here. Brentford had been the only Premier League opponent against whom he hadn’t scored. Not any more.
MAN CITY (4-1-4-1): Ederson 6.5; Walker 6, Dias 7, Stones 7, Akanji 6; RODRI 8; Foden 7.5, Silva 5.5, Alvarez 7 (Kovacic 89min), Bobb 6.5 (Doku 61, 6); Haaland 7.5. Scorer: Haaland 71. Booked: Stones, Walker. Manager: Pep Guardiola 7. BRENTFORD (3-5-2): Flekken 7; Zanka 6, Ajer 5, Mee 6; Roerslev 6.5 (Ghoddos 89), Onyeka 6.5 (Damsgaard 89), Norgaard 6, Janelt 7 (Jensen 77), Reguilon 6 (Lewis-Potter 78); Toney 6.5, Wissa 7 (Maupay 68, 5.5). Booked: Mee, Wissa, Toney, Flekken. Manager: Thomas Frank 7. Referee: Darren England 6. Attendance: Not provided.