Manchester City continued their perfect start to the 2024/25 campaign thanks to a 2-1 victory over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium.
Thomas Frank’s side presented some resistance to the Cityzens, and even took the lead, but could not stop the destruction of Erling Haaland as City went on to claim all three points.
It was a very early strike from Yoane Wissa which gave the Bees a shock lead at the home of the Premier League champions. The attacker got on the end of a bouncing ball in the box which City failed to clear, and headed home from inside the six-yard box to put his side in front.
However, the lethal Norway international had his say before too long, firstly getting on the end of a Kevin De Bruyne pass to fire home powerfully into the top left corner. Just over ten minutes later, Haaland scored again, this time latching onto a long pass from goalkeeper Ederson, getting into a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Mark Flekken and dinking home for 2-1 to City.
It was a superb performance from the Norwegian, who had good support from his teammates throughout the game as City continued their perfect start to the season.
Erling Haaland’s stats against Brentford
City’s number nine is simply inevitable. At this stage, the amount of goals the Norweigan striker is scoring on a weekly basis is getting quite ridiculous. Haaland simply cannot stop scoring, and he shows no signs of slowing down.
The striker has already scored nine goals this season, in four games. This is now the third time in those four games that he has scored more than one goal. His nine goals so far in the top flight are triple the amount of any other player in the Premier League this season.
The Manchester Evening News’ chief Man City writer Simon Bajkowski rated Haaland’s performance against Brentford a 9/10, which was unsurprisingly the highest rating from today’s game. He described the striker using one word, “outstanding”.
Indeed, the Norway centre-forward’s exceptional performance was reflected in his SofaScore stats. He had 25 touches of the ball and had four shots on target, also rattling the woodwork once. All that went along with his two goals, which proved to be the difference for the Cityzens.
Haaland was unquestionably superb today, and whilst he was the star of the show, plenty of his teammates also performed well against the Bees.
Ilkay Gundogan’s stats against Brentford
One of those players was City’s former captain, the returning Ilkay Gundogan. It was his first start since rejoining the club he skippered to a famous treble in 2022/23, and he was a shining light for Pep Guardiola in the middle of the park.
He certainly had an impressive impact on the game against Brentford today. Now donning the number 19 shirt rather than the eight that reflected his role in midfield during his first spell, he ran the show for the Cityzens.
According to SofaScore, the German was busy in midfield, having 74 touches, and completing 55 out of 58 passes, with a 95% accuracy. Gundogan also created four chances, although did not register an assist.
Gunodgan stats vs. Brentford | |
|---|---|
Stat | Number |
Touches | 74 |
Passes completed | 95% |
Pass accuracy | 55/58 |
Chances created | 4 |
Ground duels won | 4/8 |
Tackles won | 3/4 |
Stats from SofaScore | |
It was an excellent performance, a sentiment shared by Bajkowski, who gave him a 7/10 rating for his efforts. He explained that the midfielder improved throughout the game, and praised him for “linking well with Haaland” in the second 45 minutes.
For the Cityzens, it will no doubt be a huge boost to have Gundogan back at the club this season. If he continues to put in performances like he did against Brentford, they will be in a strong position to win a fifth-consecutive Premier League title.
