Manchester City 1-2 Brentford: 5 Hits and Flops Ivan Toney scores a goal on either side of Phil Foden's stunner | Premier League 2022-23

Manchester City were defeated 2-1 by Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday, November 12. The result saw them miss out on the opportunity to climb to the top of the table.

City entered this contest on the back of three successive wins in the league. They dug deep to earn a 2-1 win over Fulham in their last game despite going down to 10 men following Joao Cancelo's sending-off.

Pep Guardiola was handed a boost as Erling Haaland was declared fit to play and was slotted straight into the starting XI.

Thomas Frank, on the other hand, was aiming for his side to put in a strong performance after their shock loss to League Two strugglers Gillingham FC in the EFL Cup. He went with his trusted strike partnership of Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney as Brentford looked to earn a result.

🔵 TEAM NEWS 🔵

XI | Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan (C), Bernardo, Haaland, Foden

SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Dias, Phillips, Grealish, Alvarez, Gomez, Mahrez, Palmer, Lewis

#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide https://t.co/KjrbnIzIZ4

Manchester City made a weak start to the game and were on the back foot right from the outset. Brentford had great chances to score early in the game as Ederson was forced into making two saves.

The visitors finally grabbed the lead 16 minutes into the contest as John Stones went too deep and played Ivan Toney onside. The forward leaped and headed his side into the lead.

The hosts regained their tempo and pushed forward in numbers as they dominated possession of the ball. Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne saw their penalty shouts waived off by VAR following two checks in quick succession. Manchester City barely allowed Brentford any room as they cramped them in their own half.

Phil Foden scored an equalizer late in the first period after Manuel Akanji cushioned a pass to the far post. Foden smashed it into the far corner as the sides headed into the break with the scores level at 1-1.

HALF-TIME | Level at the break 🤝

🔵 1-1 🐝 #ManCity | @NESCAFE https://t.co/h13cAxBAAo

Both teams made a strong start to the second period as they jostled to gain an early advantage after the restart. Manchester City continued to dominate possession and barely allowed Brentford players a sniff of the ball. They attempted 14 shots in the second period but only four of them were on target.

Brentford, on the other hand, were more clinical as they attempted four shots with all of them on target. One of them proved to be the dagger through Manchester City's hopes for a point in the 98th minute.

Ivan Toney latched onto a pass from Josh Da Silva to make it 2-1 with barely 60 seconds of play remaining. The visitors did well to secure an unexpected but well-deserved win.

With that said, let's take a look at the five hits and flops from the game.

#5. Hit - David Raya (Brentford)

Raya was solid between the sticks for Brentford and made five saves in key moments of the game. He displayed great agility and reflexes to deny City and also made two high claims from crosses. He played 24 accurate long balls from 43 attempts, sticking to Thomas Frank's plan to play the long game against the hosts.

#4. Flop - Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Haaland looked a shell of himself in today's game as he attempted just one shot which was subsequently blocked. He was dispossessed five times as Brentford's defense did extremely well to keep him quiet. Frustration also got the better of the Norwegian as he was booked for a cynical tackle in the first half.

#3. Hit - Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Foden scored a delightful goal with a powerful drive from inside the box. His goal brought Manchester City back into the game as the scores were tied at 1-1. He showed great awareness to hold off and stay in a shooting position at the far post.

Foden attempted a total of seven shots on goal, with two on target and four blocked. He played three key passes and two accurate crosses in a positive attacking display. He also won four of his 10 duels.

#2. Flop - Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City)

Gundogan made a decent start to the game and passed the ball around well. However, he missed a massive chance to put Manchester City ahead midway through the second half. Gundogan combined well with Haaland to arrive in the box but misjudged the bounce of the ball and fired it well above the goal.

He attempted another similar effort a few minutes later and the outcome was the same despite Gundogan shooting with his preferred right foot.

#1. Hit - Ivan Toney (Brentford)

Toney was the undisputed man of the match as he scored from two well-worked moves by Brentford. He was on fire tonight as he attempted six shots with all of them on target. He also played two key passes and one accurate long ball.

Toney scored what was his 10th goal in 14 appearances in the league this season and has helped Brentford climb to 11th in the table with 19 points.