Manchester City have a huge gap with the competition in the Premier League. Josep Guardiola’s men did what they had to do on Wednesday evening and deservedly beat Brentford: 0-1. The victory, which could have been bigger, brings leader City by no fewer than eight points from Chelsea, which earlier in the evening did not win against Brighton & Hove Albion (1-1). Liverpool already lost to Leicester City (1-0) on Tuesday and is now nine points behind City, which has played one more game.
Although the initiative fell to City from the start, Brentford was very close to scoring several times in the opening phase. Yoane Wissa was the source of most of the danger, which was averted by two good saves by City goalkeeper Ederson Moraes and a ball cleared by João Cancelo.
Brentford gets two mega chances, but it is City that open the score ??
Kevin De Bruyne puts it ready, Phil Foden finishes cool: 1-0 ??#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #BREMCIA pic.twitter.com/1SJIGkODhG— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Dec 29, 2021
On the other side of the field, City did manage to take advantage of their first opportunity in the sixteenth minute. Kevin De Bruyne hurled the ball towards the near post, where the completely free Phil Foden only had to put the inside of his shoe against it: 0-1. City then characteristically controlled the game with huge possession, but Brentford didn’t allow any more chances in the first half.
Immediately after the break, Guardiola’s team came close via Foden, who headed just wide after a new cross from De Bruyne. Minutes later, City’s power play also resulted in a goal from Foden, which was disallowed for offside. City kept trying and De Bruyne hit the post from distance in the 65th minute. Three minutes before the end, another goal by the visitors was rejected, this time due to minimal offside by Aymeric Laporte with a header. However, City’s well-deserved victory was never in danger.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 20 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 39 | 50 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 29 | 42 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 41 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 19 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 35 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 31 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 30 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 28 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton W. | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | -1 | 25 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | -2 | 25 |
| 10 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 18 | 5 | 9 | 4 | -1 | 24 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 23 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | -4 | 22 |
| 13 | Southampton | 19 | 4 | 9 | 6 | -9 | 21 |
| 14 | Brentford | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | -4 | 20 |
| 15 | Everton | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | -8 | 19 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | -18 | 16 |
| 17 | Watford | 17 | 4 | 1 | 12 | -13 | 13 |
| 18 | Burnley | 15 | 1 | 8 | 6 | -7 | 11 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 19 | 1 | 8 | 10 | -23 | 11 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 19 | 2 | 4 | 13 | -34 | 10 |