The Premier League is the most important league in the world, the most competitive, the most spectacle and surprise offered to the spectator.
This league has always been the most watched for the simple fact that it has the biggest clubs, the famous Big Six: Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. All these teams always lead the top spots year after year with a few exceptions.
In this article, we will talk about Manchester City’s surprising defeat against Brentford 2-1 at home. Continue reading.
Manchester City’s defeat sent them down to second place in the Premier League table
The premier league is the most competitive league in the world. It does not allow a margin of error for teams. A defeat against a weak team unexpectedly at the end of the championship can mean missing out on the championship by one or two points.
On Saturday, Manchester City hosted Brentford, a London team ranked 10th in the Premier League table. It looked like a tough but winnable game for Pep Guardiola’s team.
With just one week to go before the start of the World Cup in Qatar 2022, Pep Guardiola’s side took to the field to play, win and go play for their national team. Manchester City had won 16 consecutive home games. But, the unexpected happened.
The home team, Manchester City, formed its team as follows:
- (31) Ederson
- (5) John Stones
- (25) Manuel Akanji
- (14) Aymeric Laporte
- (7) João Cancelo
- (17) Kevin De Bruyne
- (16) Rodri
- (8) Ilkay Gündogan
- (20) Bernardo Silva
- (9) Erling Haaland
- (47) Philip Foden
For their part, Brentford visited City with this formation:
- David Raya
- Mads Roerslev
- Zanka
- Ben Mee
- Ethan Pinnock
- Rico Henry
- Frank Onyeka
- Vitaly Janelt
- (Mathias Jensen
- Bryan Mbeumo
- Ivan Toney
The match kicked off and in the 16th minute, Ivan Toney scored a header from a corner kick and left the City fans open-mouthed.
Pep Guardiola’s men went on the attack from the 20th minute onwards, pressing high in the opponent’s half to take the ball away and attack Brentford’s goal.
Bernardo Silva regained the ball in midfield and crossed to the feet of the dreaded striker, Erling Haaland, who did not connect well and shot over the goal.
Before the end of the first half, Phil Foden, through a magical play of quality shot at goal and converted the first goal for Pep Guardiola’s team. Everything seemed to be back to normal as the first half ended with a draw.
The second half of the Manchester City vs Brentford match left much to be desired, a tough and tight 45 minutes for both teams. On a dangerous play by the away team, Laporte collided with one of the strikers and was left bleeding. He had to be replaced.
Pep Guardiola, at the 70th to 75th minute, seeing the way to penetrate the opponent’s field, started to make changes up front. Haaland was replaced by 22-year-old Argentine striker Julian Alvarez.
The Argentine player had several dangerous chances, but was unable to score. Gradually the game was coming to an end and the referee added 10 minutes, which favored the visiting team, Brentford.
Once again, Toney shot at the goalkeeper and converted the second goal for his team’s victory. With no room for maneuver, Pep Guardiola’s team lost 3 valuable points and dropped to second place in the championship table.
Who is at the top of the table and when does the Premier League return?
Arsenal, managed by Arteta, is in first place with 37 points. However, only 14 matches have been played. There are still many matches to go before the championship is decided.
Manchester City is in second place with 32 points, 5 points behind the team led by Arteta. Newcastle is in third place, Tottenham in fourth place and Manchester United in fifth place.
The Premier League ends and stops this week because, in a few days, the World Cup in Qatar 2022 begins. The competition resumes from December 27-28, just 10 days after the World Cup Final. The Premier League does not stop for a day.
Who are the top scorers so far in the Premier League?
So far, with 14 games gone, the Premier League has a unique goal scorer with a 6-goal difference against second place. Want to find out who it is? Below, we mention it to you.
- Erling Haaland with 18 goals in 14 games.
- Harry Kane with 12 goals.
- Ivan Toney with 10 goals.
- Mitrovic with 9 goals.
- Rodrigo Machado with 9 goals.
On the other hand, who is the highest assist maker so far in the premier league with 14 games? In first place is Kevin De Bruyne with 9 assists in total, followed in second place by Saka with 6 and Iwobi with 5.
Undoubtedly, in individual statistics, City leads all indicators. Pep Guardiola’s team has enough quality to win a new league under the guidance of newcomer Erling Haaland.
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