NEW DELHI:
Erling Haaland
showcased his scoring prowess on Tuesday as he scored the only goal for
Manchester City
in a 1-0 victory over
Brentford
.
With this win, Manchester City moved up to second place in the
Premier League
table, just one point behind leaders
Liverpool
.
Pep Guardiola's team has been in impressive form, remaining unbeaten in their last 10 league matches.
They are now a point ahead of title rivals Arsenal, with 56 points. The race for the title looks set to be a closely contested one.
Brentford, on the other hand, sit comfortably in 14th place, five points above the relegation zone.
Haaland, who had a frustrating game against Chelsea with no goals from nine shots, bounced back in style. He increased his league tally to 17 goals with his brilliant performance against Brentford.
In the 71st minute, Haaland broke the deadlock with a sprint onto a perfectly played through ball from Julian Alvarez. He calmly slotted the ball past slipping defender Kristoffer Ajer and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. This goal meant that Haaland has now scored against every Premier League club he has faced, except Luton Town.
Guardiola defended Haaland against his critics and highlighted the challenges the Norwegian has faced in his personal life. He urged people not to criticize top strikers who consistently score goals. Guardiola also mentioned that Haaland had been through a difficult period, including a foot injury and the loss of his grandmother.
Chelsea had frustrated Manchester City in their previous game, and it was a similar story against Brentford. Apart from Haaland's goal, Manchester City dominated the game, taking 25 shots with 11 on target, compared to Brentford's two.
However, Brentford's goalkeeper, Mark Flekken, put in an excellent performance to keep the scoreline at 1-0.
Both teams had their chances to score. City's Oscar Bobb came close with a well-executed shot that was cleared off the line by Ben Mee. Brentford also had an early opportunity, but Frank Onyeka's shot was saved by City's goalkeeper Ederson.
City defender Manuel Akanji emphasized the difficulty of playing against Brentford's defensive setup. He also expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance and highlighted the need for continuous improvement.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank regretted the slip-up that led to Haaland's goal. He believed that if defender Kristoffer Ajer hadn't slipped, the goal would not have happened. Frank acknowledged Manchester City's quality and mentioned that his team needed the margins to go their way more than City did.
(With inputs from Reuters)
English (US) ·