The destiny of the Premier League claim may well have been decided in the lapp week as the Ashes. After Liverpool faltered at Leicester on Tuesday and Chelsea were depth‑charged by Danny Welbeck elsewhere in west London on Wednesday, Manchester City figure 2022 with a fourthly championship in five years hard within their compass. victory at Brentford opened the gap to eight on Chelsea and nine on Liverpool. Their chasers face each early at the weekend. With Brentford troublesome, disciplined confrontation, City could not close out 2021 with a expose of the glorious pyrotechnics that won the entitle last season and had rattled in 17 goals in their last three matches. Phil Foden ’ s early goal, coming from Kevin De Bruyne ’ second serve, gave them what they came for, a tenth consecutive Premier League gain, a pace with which their rivals can not live. As Pep Guardiola remarked : “ The argue they [ Chelsea and Liverpool ] drop points is that we won 10 games in a row. ” On a ground where Arsenal lost, Liverpool drew 3-3 and Chelsea squeaked a 1-0 winnings, Guardiola did not lowball Brentford. The renovation to the starting lineup of Foden and Jack Grealish after being benched because of a pre-Christmas drink session reflected the intensity of City ’ second options, and paid dividends in Foden ’ s match-winning contribution.

Grealish, as his drink partner showed off his superior capability within City ’ s freeform attack, continues to be a disappointment. The carefree attacker of Aston Villa yore is yet to evidence himself, though in extenuation Bernardo Silva was similarly quiet in this game. Facing all that endowment, and person Thomas Frank had called the “ greatest coach of the modern era ”, was a Brentford team ravaged by injury preferably than illness. entirely one actor, Vitaly Janelt, is presently on the Covid absentee list, though it appears whoever Frank picks will give their all for the induce. Guardiola offered plenty of credit to Brentford for his team ’ south problems in finding a way through. “ You can not make more chances when they play 10 players in such a distance, ” Guardiola said. “ The space is constantly impossible. In that situation you have to be patient. ” Despite space being thus squeezed, the champions dominated monomania from the start. A heavy surface – with suspiciously long grass – at the Community Stadium besides curbed the common City flow. Gabriel Jesus ’ s 10th‑minute miscontrol was by no means the only slip .Aymeric Laporte had a late headed effort disallowed by VAR for offside. Aymeric Laporte had a belated headed effort disallowed by VAR for offside. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Manchester City FC/Getty Images Brentford were never wholly restricted to their own half and the City finish came just as the home team created their best sequence of chances. Frank Onyeka and Mads Sørenson took early on potshots before Ederson was forced into a reaction save after Yoane Wissa had crashed the ball off Rúben Dias ’ s face. It then took a seasonably Nathan Aké intervention to clear risk when Ivan Toney threatened.

Within seconds of that flurry, Foden had the ball in the net income. De Bruyne crossed from the right in a dash David Beckham once patented and Foden, onside by millimetres, slotted past Álvaro Fernández. VAR offered no mercifulness. “ I wasn ’ metric ton excessively confident, ” Foden said of the drawn-out delay that followed his strike. “ I thought I went a little besides early on. ” Foden, in a false-nine put he clearly relished, was much the City player furthest forward. “ He likes it, this position, ” Guardiola said, sidestepping questions of the discipline he had meted out to his young England stars. “ [ Foden ] does not have anything to prove to me. ” Brentford, urged on by Frank ’ s squawking presence from the touchline, were frequently reduced to last-ditch tackles. Dominic Thompson, on Jesus, delivered the choice of them. It got cranky, besides. Just before the pause Toney and Fernandinho fought out a campaign battle. Both fell stagily but neither engaged the attention of government officials. The second half began with De Bruyne again teeing up Foden, this time for a header wide. The belgian then struck the foot of the left military post. Foden did net a header, entirely to be ruled offside. Brentford were retreating ever more, pressed into mistakes on the rare occasions they did regain possession. “ We met City in their highest form, and we gave one gamble away in 45 minutes, so the first half is fantastic, ” Frank said. “ unfortunately we lacked the cutting edge in attack and on the counter. But I ’ thousand fully proud and defeated we didn ’ t take a steer. ”

The fiver : sign up and get our daily football e-mail. The lack of a second City finish opened the door on a by and by Brentford rejoinder nicking a bespeak and halting City ’ s winning run at nine matches but the home team were excessively exhausted to try it, with Thompson, only one previous Premier League game to his name, pulling up with cramp. Guardiola, meanwhile, could leave Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling on the bench. They will come in handy for Arsenal on Saturday, a opportunity to put promote distance on City ’ s increasingly despairing chasers .