Despite the gulf in talent, it was Brentford who were the far better team in the opening exchanges, and the Bees were rewarded for their efforts before the 20-minute mark. After the ball was flicked on from a free-kick, Ivan Toney showed his strength and leapt above the City defence to head home the opening goal and stun the Etihad crowd. City pushed to reclaim parity, and poured the pressure on the Londoners as the half wound down. The pressure told in stoppage time from a corner kick when the ball fell to Phil Foden, and the winger lashed his shot into the roof of the net to level the scoreline at the break.
The Blues pushed to snatch a winner after the interval as they aimed to leap back up to the top of the Premier League. However, the Brentford rearguard proved tough to break down, and sunk deeper and deeper into their own box as the half wore on. The reigning Premier League champions looked lost for ideas as they probed the Bees’ defence.
Despite a whopping 10 minutes of stoppage time spent by the hosts looking for the winner, Pep Guardiola’s men left themselves exposed at the back and were knocked off of their perch in the dying moments. A scintillating Brentford counterattack saw Ivan Toney tap home an inch-perfect Josh Dasilva assist to snatch a last-gasp winner for the Bees and spark wild scenes of elation amongst the away fans behind the goal.
While a draw at the Etihad is nothing to be scoffed at for Thomas Frank’s men, the result sees the West London outfit fail to win away from home once again, now one of only four teams in the Premier League that has failed to do so this season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ivan Toney (Brentford)
