On 71 minutes, delight for Manchester City and heartbreak for Brentford. Thomas Frank’s ploy of defending with 10 and hoping for a breakaway strike had disrupted the champions who appeared bereft of ideas. But then came the hosts’ sheer quality in a lightning sequence that had Rúben Dias finding Rodri near their area. He passed to Julián Álvarez whose ball landed at the thus-far ineffective Erling Haaland. Not now, though, because as he raced in, Kristoffer Ajer slipped and the lethal 23-year-old beat Mark Flekken to the goalkeeper’s right from inside the D.
Game over, despite Flekken’s appearance in City’s area at a 95th-minute corner. Haaland’s winner, which means he has scored against all 21 Premier League teams he has faced, moves City to a point behind Liverpool and makes their trip to Anfield on 10 March a seismic clash that hands the victor total control of their destiny. Strap yourself in for that one.
