Manchester City sustained their title aspirations with a 3-0 win on home soil against Brentford.
Five points behind **Arsenal**with only a game in hand before kick-off, a triumph was the minimum requirement to ensure that the Premier League title race goes down to the wire. Against a **Brentford**outfit that are still in the hunt for European football, that was never going to be a simple target to hit.
The game was goalless at half time, and Jeremy Doku was the brightest spark for City in their display. In the end, the Belgian bailed out the hosts with another wonderfully whipped strike in the second half, and **Erling Haaland**fulfilled his obligations as scorer-in-chief to make the match safe.
Omar Marmoush put the icing on the cake in second-half injury time, and City have closed the gap at the top of the table down to just two points before the league leaders travel to play West Ham.
Story of the Match
**Pep Guardiola**made two changes to the starting eleven he picked for the trip to **Everton**that ended in a 3-3 draw. Abdukodir Khusanov came out of central defence as Nathan Ake partnered with Marc Guehi, and Tijjani Reijnders replaced Nico Gonzalez in midfield in the absence of Rodri.
Meanwhile, Keith Andrews asked two new men to step up to the plate after a 3-0 win over West Ham. Kristoffer Ajer joined Nathan Collins in central defence, forcing Sepp van den Berg out of the lineup. Aaron Hickey played in central midfield, and Yehor Yarmoliuk moved to the right flank.
The Cityzens knew they had to put scoreboard pressure on their title-chasing rivals, and **Jeremy Doku**wasted no time trying to take the game to Brentford, forcing a save out of Caoimhin Kelleher.
But it would not take too long for the Bees to test the defensive discipline of their hosts. Michael Kayode wound up a long throw-in, and Gianluigi Donnarumma was nowhere near the first ball. Fortunately, a combination of Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes managed to sweep up the mess.
Without the aerial presence and gamesmanship of **Rodri**at the base of the midfield, City still seem to be a vulnerable outfit to more chaotic contexts. This is a situation that suits the strengths of the Bees, who buzzed forward through the speed of Kevin Schade on more than one occasion in the first half.
About ten minutes into the match, Lewis-Potter released Schade to stretch his legs before Ake covered around to deny the attacker, and Hickey earned a free kick for a foul from Rayan Cherki that called Donnarumma into action. Then, a bouncing ball let Igor Thiago set away Schade for a second time, and Nunes grappled with the forward to force him off-balance legally in the eyes of the referee.
Bernardo and Reijnders fired faulty efforts at the target, but the biggest threat was Doku, who had scored twice for the team against the Toffees on Monday evening. A delicious delivery in the air gifted **Erling Haaland**a presentable chance to score, and a subsequent cutback caused a goalmouth scramble. Antoine Semenyo set up Haaland for a similar opportunity, as the same outcome occurred.
Reijnders and Semenyo had strikes blocked by red and white shirts, while Cherki was quieter than he has been for most of City’s contests in the run-in. Half time arrived with the hosts in need of more solutions to open up the guests, and piling pressure to take the points that could keep **Arsenal**honest.
But the same stalemate stayed in place after the restart: Semenyo sent the ball flying over the bar, and Cherki pulled a shot wide of the mark as the **Brentford**block remained resolute in their own third.
Moreover, the Bees still showed they had a sting of their own. A crafty cross from Jensen narrowly evaded Ajer, and a transition that ran through Igor Thiago forced Donnarumma to dive and parry.
At the hour mark, Guardiola rolled the dice with two substitutions. **Omar Marmoush**made an appearance as a second central forward with Haaland, and Foden filled in centrally for Cherki.
But it was the familiar threat that made the difference. As the new pair of players entered the field for a corner, Doku got the ball short from Bernardo. His attempted through ball for Bernardo was blocked by Mikkel Damsgaard, but neither he nor **Mathias Jensen**jumped to the loose ball. Doku picked up the pieces, and he replicated his exploits earlier in the week with a whipped shot to find the target.
Andrews turned to his bench to make a couple of changes himself. Vitaly Janelt joined Jensen in the middle of the park, and Dango Ouattara operated on the right wing, coming on for Damsgaard. It was down that channel that another big flashpoint occurred: Thiago, on this occasion, tried to find Schade in the penalty area, and the forward fell under apparent contact from Nunes at the back post.
However, the officials decided not to act, and the Cityzens proceeded to take the game out of sight. Semenyo shuffled down the right wing, bringing the ball into the box. His cutback dropped for Haaland, and the striker forced the ball through bodies to double the advantage in the 75th minute.
City continued probing to try and help their goal difference. Doku danced outside Ouattara, and his pullback found the left foot of Foden, whose effort produced another save from Kelleher, the same outcome from an earlier duel between the pair when the **England**attacker had just joined the action.
The clash was completely wrapped up during injury time when the hosts advanced on the break. Doku had come off to resounding applause and **Savinho**switched in for him as the left winger. He fed Haaland in a central position on the counter, and Marmoush made the final touch count in the box.
At the other end of the pitch, Donnarumma tipped a Thiago header onto the crossbar as City kept a clean sheet, capping off the afternoon. It is all eyes on the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.