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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Alex Brotherton

Joao Cancelo apology, Haaland roughed up and other moments missed from Man City vs Brentford

Manchester City suffered their first Premier League home defeat of the season on Saturday as Brentford scored deep into injury-time to snatch a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.

After experiencing the elation of a last-gasp win against Fulham last weekend, City came crashing down to earth when they were on the receiving end of a late goal. Two goals from Ivan Toney - either side of Phil Foden's equaliser - gave the visitors a deserved win, although there is no denying that City were far from their best.

City were sloppy in possession and too often tried to force the ball forward. The less said about their finishing in front of goal, the better.

READ MORE: Man City players proved Pep Guardiola right in defeat to Brentford

While there will no-doubt be a public enquiry into City's dismal display, here are a few things you might have missed from a disappointing afternoon at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep unhappy early on

It became clear within the opening 10 minutes of the match that Guardiola was not happy with his side. Twice Brentford pounced on sloppy City play in the early stages and should have scored, but thankfully for City Ederson pulled off two decent saves.

But when the Brazilian goalkeeper played a goal-kick straight out of play he let his displeasure be known.

Physical approach

In the build-up to the game Brentford boss Thomas Frank said his side would try to keep Erling Haaland quiet by stopping City's attack at source - Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgian ended up having a poor game, but Brentford's approach to Haaland was the opposite of what Frank said.

The visitors doubled up on Haaland pretty much all afternoon, with plenty of contact between defenders and striker. I lost count of the number of times the 22-year-old hit the deck, although he can't really claim to have been fouled in the box.

Cancelo apology

City had four penalty appeals turned down by the VAR in the first half, and after half time, they appealed again when Joao Cancelo went tumbling as he surged into the box. Referee Peter Bankes needed no help in making a decision though, immediately awarding Brentford a free-kick and booking the City full-back for diving.

Unusually for a player who had just been caught diving, Cancelo immediately held up his hands and apologised. He had a poor game, but he should be credited for that.

Accept it and move on

When Ivan Toney tapped home the winner in the eighth minute of injury time, the Brentford analysts sat in the press box understandably jumped up in delight. They had been vocal all game, but the enthusiastic celebrations angered some City fans in the stands just in front of them.

Things soon calmed down, and one elderly City fan was particularly gracious in defeat. He turned around and shook the hands of the Brentford employees, admitting that the better side had won. For City it was just one of those days, and Brentford have every right to enjoy a famous win.

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