Brentford undone by Haaland as Man City go second

Erling Haaland has managed to register 17 goals in the Premier League this season.

In the Premier League, Manchester City managed to squeeze out a victory against Brentford with the help of a crucial goal from Erling Haaland in the 71st minute. Despite Brentford's strong defense, Man City was able to narrowly secure the win and move within one point of the league leaders.

Pep Guardiola's team seemed to be heading towards a disappointing night at the Etihad Stadium, but their luck changed with one fortunate moment.

Kristoffer Ajer who plays as a defender for Brentford seemed to have things sorted out when Julian Alvarez passed the ball to the away team's half as City came back in defense.

As Haaland started to run after the ball, Ajer lost his balance and was unable to stand up again while the Norwegian player raced ahead.

The young football player, who is 23 years old, remained composed and accurate as he scored a goal against Mark Flekken. This marks Haaland's 22nd goal of the season, and furthermore, he has successfully scored against each Premier League rival he has encountered.

What's even more significant is that it allowed City to claim a win that propelled them into second place ahead of Arsenal, while also holding onto their streak of achieving a fourth consecutive title. This win puts them in control of their own fate, as they still have to face off against top-ranked Liverpool on March 10th.

Even though City had complete control of the game, it wasn't entirely fair to Brentford in terms of results. It's unfortunate that Thomas Frank's team couldn't replicate the same level of organization that they had during their match against Liverpool, where they suffered a heavy loss.

Despite earning six points in their previous 11 matches, they are currently only a mere five points away from being relegated. They are still on the lookout for a steady progress that will enable them to steer clear of danger.

Haaland, who missed several opportunities in the match against Chelsea, appeared to be extremely motivated from the very beginning of the game. Usually, he would have easily taken these chances, but this time he seemed determined to succeed.

At the beginning of the match, he retreated to get the ball, but he made a mistake and passed it too far for Alvarez to reach. He became the one who chased after the ball, and as Brentford attempted to play in their half of the field, he displayed a no-nonsense approach by taking the ball away from Sergio Reguilon along the touchline. After that, he ran towards the opposition's box and took a strong shot that Flekken saved.

Soon after, the leading scorer of the league attempted a spectacular shot but it went over the goalpost.

Although there may have been a feeling of letdown for not getting a goal both times, and it's reasonable to feel annoyed about the lack of opportunities to score as Brentford worked to prevent his success, it was clear that Haaland was the most likely player to make the first goal happen.

When the two teams played in west London two weeks ago, Phil Foden, who scored a hat-trick, had an opportunity to score again but missed the goal by shooting the ball too high after being assisted by Bernardo Silva.

The outcome of the game was riding on Haaland's performance. Unfortunately for Ajer and Brentford, they were unlucky when the Norwegian player made his way through. However, once it was a one-on-one battle between the striker and goalkeeper, the end result was clear.

Haaland believed he had scored the second goal for City towards the end of the match, however, his header from a short distance was not counted as it was deemed offside due to full-back Kyle Walker's position.

He now has a lead of two on Mo Salah in the Golden Boot rankings. The outcome of this individual competition could heavily influence the destination of the championship.

Approximately 30 minutes into the game, when Brentford made another attempt at scoring against the City team, a noticeable ripple of unease spread throughout the stadium.

Guardiola made a response by gesturing with his hand to calm down the supporters who were positioned above him. He did this with six exaggerated signals to convey his message.

At the halfway mark, he was the individual who required some relaxation as he rotated on his feet and strode down the passage.

The manager of the City team was getting more and more annoyed with Brentford's behavior of taking too much time, even though it was unexpected that only two extra minutes were added to the first half, considering the trend of having more than ten minutes added due to injuries.

Besides fetching the ball for a Brentford throw, Guardiola's reaction to Flekken's postponed goal-kicks and Yoane Wissa falling to prompt John Stones' booking, involved giving some prolonged looks at the opposing coach, Frank, who he mentioned respecting in his pre-match notes. He also grumbled at the fourth official and gave an annoyed wave to referee Darren England.

It's fortunate that the situation wasn't worse. Ivan Toney came extremely close to scoring when Reguilon slightly redirected a free-kick towards him. Additionally, Ederson had to make an impressive full-length save following Frank Onyeka's shot.

Brentford had hopes to accomplish a feat only achieved by Manchester United, beating City in consecutive away matches while Guardiola is manager. This was based on their victory in the same fixture during the previous season.

During the beginning of the second half, Onyeka initiated a sprint towards the opponents' field, creating a window of opportunity for his team to score. In that fleeting moment, it appeared as though they would take the lead. However, Onyeka kept possession of the ball for too long causing him to make a poor pass, which flew out of bounds on the opposite side of the field and resulted in a throw-in for their opponents.

Brentford failed to pose a real danger throughout the match until the very end of the game, during the fifth minute of injury time, when they were awarded a corner kick. However, Haaland successfully defended their attempt.

It definitely was his evening.

The standout performer of the game The individual who stole the show The most impressive player on the field The athlete who stood out among the rest The game-changer who made a significant impact on the result The top performer of the match The outstanding player who shone brighter than anyone else The player who made a lasting impression and left a mark on the game.

On average, it stands at 7.94.

Player Name: Rúben Dias Squad Number: 3 Rúben Dias is the name of the player who wears the squad number 3.

Player Number20Bernardo Silva

The player who wears the number 13 on their jersey is M Jorgensen.

The game is finished, with Manchester City emerging victorious over Brentford by a score of 1-0.

The latter portion of the game concludes with a score of Manchester City 1 and Brentford 0.

Mark Flekken from Brentford received a yellow card due to committing a foul in the game.

Rodri, who plays for Manchester City, earns a free kick in the back half of the field.

Mark Flekken from Brentford committed a foul.

Brentford's corner was caused by the error of Erling Haaland.

The shot taken by Erling Haaland from the centre of the box was blocked by the goalkeeper in the middle of the goal. Phil Foden provided Haaland with a cross to set up the attempt.

The ball is in the corner and it belongs to Manchester City. Mark Flekken made a mistake and allowed the other team to score.

The shot made by Phil Foden from the left area of the six yard box was blocked by the goalkeeper in the middle of the goal. Rodri helped him with the play.

Manchester City makes a substitution by bringing in Mateo Kovacic for Julián Álvarez.

The Brentford team is making a substitution. Mads Roerslev is being replaced by Saman Ghoddos.

A substitution has been made by Brentford. Frank Onyeka has been replaced by Mikkel Damsgaard.

The ball went to the corner towards Manchester City, but Mark Flekken unfortunately gave it away.

The shot taken by Phil Foden from the left side of the box was stopped by the goalie, with the ball being saved in the top centre of the goal. Julián Álvarez assisted in the attempt.

The goalkeeper managed to prevent a goal. Erling Haaland took a shot with his right foot from the right side of the field but the ball was stopped at the bottom left area of the goal. Julián Álvarez assisted with the play.

Manchester City's Kyle Walker committed a serious foul and consequently received a yellow card from the referee.

Kyle Walker (Manchester City) committed a violation.

Neal Maupay, a player from Brentford's team, has successfully obtained a free kick in their own half of the field, which could be advantageous for their defense tactics.

Manchester City have been flagged for an offside, specifically Kyle Walker. He was unfortunately caught in an offside position.

Brentford makes a substitution, with Keane Lewis-Potter taking the place of Sergio Reguilón.