Manchester City eventually overcame Brentford’s resolute opposition to get within one point of the Premier League summit, thanks to a crucial winner scored by Erling Haaland 19 minutes from time.
Pep Guardiola’s team experienced a flash of extreme luck during what appeared to be a frustrating evening at Etihad Stadium.
Julian Alvarez delivered a pass into the visitors’ half as City countered, but Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer seemed to have the situation under control.
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However, as Haaland started to pursue, Ajer stumbled and lost his balance, allowing the Norwegian to quickly pass.
With a well-aimed shot, the 23-year-old beat Mark Flekken by remaining composed. It was Haaland’s 22nd goal of the year, making him the first Premier League player to score against every opponent.
More crucially, because they still had to play leaders Liverpool on March 10, the win maintained City’s record fourth consecutive title in their own hands and moved them over Arsenal into second place.
Given City’s domination, the outcome was not particularly punitive on Brentford, but the way it was handled was regrettable. Compared to their performance in the crushing loss to Liverpool over the weekend, Thomas Frank’s team was far more disciplined.
Even though they are only five points above the relegation zone after their last 11 games, they still need to continue improving if they hope to avoid problems. They have six points from those games.
