SO WHY DIDN’T YOU TAKE A PUNT ON TONEY, GARETH?
Ivan scores twice after World Cup snub to shock Pep
OH, Gareth. How’s your luck? Ivan Toney scoring twice. Of course Toney scored twice, a mere two days after a World Cup squad announcement without his name among the 26.
Maybe it was one of those things that was always going to come to pass. Toney lifted fingers to his ears when scoring both, the second a dramatic winner deep into 10 minutes of stoppage time in front of supporters who were less than complimentary about England’s manager earlier in the day.
Make of the celebration what you will but there was definitely no nuance or shades of grey when Brentford’s manager, Thomas Frank (below), bounded over to the travelling fans afterwards, pointing towards his striker to say, ‘he is the man’. They are aghast he isn’t heading for Qatar, given Harry Kane is the only Englishman with more Premier League goals than Toney’s 10 so far this season.
He is not Gareth Southgate’s man, though, and that — for yesterday afternoon at least — presented some embarrassment for England. Very few come to Manchester City and leave with a brace; fewer still do that on a winning team.
‘Listen, the only thing is just keep doing well,’ Toney said in a composed television interview immediately after full time when he might have allowed the mask to slip given the circumstances. ‘Obviously it’s disappointing [not going to the World Cup] but, listen, I know what I’m capable of and I won’t let it put me down. Just keep going and keep doing well for Brentford. The motivation is the boys in the dressing room and the fans, as you can see.’
Yes, we could see. Brentford were magnificent, their first away victory of the campaign. They should have been two clear by the time Toney opened the scoring in the 16th minute and left deserving of a win.
‘Ivan, what a player,’ Frank said. ‘Honestly, what a player. He should’ve scored five goals. I showed him empathy when we spoke [about England]. We both think he should be there. I hope Gareth thinks about Ivan if there is an injury. He proved it against the best team in the world.’
On the other side, Pep Guardiola will now have to stew over this result — and rather abject display — over the coming weeks. Defeat like this felt as if it had been coming for a while and City looked like a team ready for a break.
They have not exactly dropped many points in this title race, although equally have not made it particularly easy for themselves either, with big obnoxiously good performances giving way for comebacks
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or slender victories. Or this, outgunned by Brentford. ‘The better team won,’ Guardiola admitted. ‘We had a lot of problems. When Toney flicked the ball, he created problems. We couldn’t regain the ball. We’re (still) close to Arsenal.’
Defensively, they shook. Manuel Akanji struggled, losing his aerial duels. Aymeric Laporte, bandaged after an accidental elbow by Ethan Pinnock, was equally uncertain. The less said about Joao Cancelo the better.
Brentford had gone ahead with Toney’s header, one that ricocheted off both he and Laporte as the striker remained onside from Ben Mee’s flick on, the effort looping over Ederson.
The Brazilian keeper had completed two major stops — one to bail out those in front of him and the other to rectify his own error. Frank Oneyka had breached the back line, racing clear of John Stones, only for Ederson to spread himself and save with his legs.
Whether that was a bigger chance than Toney’s soon after is debatable, with the striker failing to turn in Bryan Mbeumo’s lay-off that derived from Rico Henry’s strong 50-yard run down the left. Phil Foden had City’s first shot on target four minutes before the break before eventually equalising in stoppage time. Akanji flicked on a corner and there it sat, bouncing once and then again, just before reaching Foden’s left boot. A perfect half-volley, rifling past David Raya — his first goal for a month.
City became restless as the game wore on, Cancelo booked for diving inside the box before holding his hand up in apology. The hosts poured forward but so too did Brentford, substitute Josh Dasilva latching onto Yoane Wissa’s break and squaring for Toney to do the rest in the 98th minute. What a message that is to send.
‘We played the perfect game and you need that if you want to beat City,’ a triumphant Frank said. ‘They were fantastic scenes in the dressing room.’