Manchester City have missed the chance to move temporarily top of the Premier League table courtesy of a shock 2-1 home defeat to Brentford at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon.
Ivan Toney quickly put aside the setback of not being named in England's World Cup squad with both goals for the Bees, netting the winner in the eighth of 10 minutes added time at the end of the game.
Phil Foden had levelled things up for the champions on the stroke of half time, fizzing a blistering half-volley into the top corner, but Man City were otherwise frustrated by a resilient Brentford side throughout more than 100 minutes of football due to the lengthy period of stoppage time.
The victory is Brentford's first away league win of the season, their first over Man City since 1937 and inflicts a first home league defeat on the Citizens since February, with Pep Guardiola's men having won each of their previous 11 such matches heading into this one.
What a stellar start for the Bees!!
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 12, 2022
Ivan Toney puts Brentford 1-0 up against Man City away from home!! 💫#EPL pic.twitter.com/MkN1KcDyw1
The hosts could have little complaint on the balance of chances too, with Toney only being denied a hat-trick by a point-blank save from Ederson and a desperate clearance off the line by Kevin De Bruyne either side of his stoppage-time winner, while it took a stunning piece of defending from Aymeric Laporte to deny the visitors another goal.
By contrast, Man City found clear-cut chances difficult to come by, with the returning Erling Braut Haaland largely kept quiet by a disciplined Brentford defensive performance.
Even Foden's goal was only really a half-chance as he blasted the ball into the top corner after it had fallen to him from a corner, levelling the scores right on the stroke of half time following an opening 45 minutes that contained more VAR checks than gilt-edged chances.
He absolutely thumped that!!
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 12, 2022
Phil Foden levels the score for Man City right on half-time with this absolute rocket of a strike! 🚀#EPL pic.twitter.com/QeYsztDg0s
Toney's opener was an instinctive header in the 16th minute after a Brentford free kick had been flicked on, and he then provided his response to being left out of Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad in the perfect way with a late winner.
Man City will have been forgiven for thinking that the 10 minutes of stoppage time - awarded due to a non-serious head injury suffered by Laporte and technical issues between the officials and the VAR crew - would have aided their bid for a winner as they dominated possession and territory in the second half.
However, the Bees had a sting in the tail and hit Guardiola's men on the counter-attack late on, with Toney turning home Joshua Dasilva's pass in the 98th minute.
TONEEEYYYYYYY!!!!
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 12, 2022
Brentford expose Man City on the counter attack as Ivan Toney bags a brace to nick a 2-1 lead with 2 minutes left on the clock!! 🤩#EPL pic.twitter.com/TS4ChhC6J9
It almost got worse immediately afterwards as Brentford again broke, this time with a three-on-one, but De Bruyne got back to deny Toney a certain hat-trick.
The result guarantees that Arsenal will be top of the Premier League table at Christmas regardless of their result against Wolverhampton Wanderers later today, with the Gunners having the chance to extend their lead over Man City to five points heading into the international break.
Thomas Frank's side, meanwhile, climb into the top half of the table in their final game before the World Cup break, now sitting only four points adrift of the top five.
Barney Corkhill
