Brentford missed out on Europe despite them producing one of the shock football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. The goal for Thomas Frank’s team was to defeat City while hoping that Aston Villa and Tottenham lost to Brighton and Leeds, respectively. Even though Ethan Pinnock’s late goal allowed the Bees to fulfill their obligation, Villa and Spurs won, keeping the Bees in ninth place. Brentford scored the goal they deserved after controlling the opportunities all afternoon, and City suffered their first loss since losing to Tottenham on February 5.
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were left at home, so Pep Guardiola’s team only got half-chances for the majority of the game, but they had a chance to steal a draw in stoppage time. Cole Palmer had three significant opportunities to score from close range in the span of five seconds. The match-winning Pinnock blocked two of Palmer’s strong shots, while Ben Mee cleared the line of third. After the game, Guardiola acknowledged that his significantly altered team had a few kinks in it, notably with De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Ruben Dias.
In their must-win game, Brentford fans produced an excellent atmosphere, but Villa’s two-goal advantage against Brighton swiftly deflated it. Frank’s Bees nonetheless put up a fantastic first-half performance, giving the champs numerous uneasy moments. Pinnock and Vitaly Janelt both missed after long throws placed Guardiola’s team on the ropes, while Yoane Wissa smacked the inside of the post after being put clean through, although via a late offside flag. Mee had two chances to break the score quickly for the Bees, but she was only able to make Ederson make a close-range save before heading the ball over from the next corner.
Kalvin Phillips and Sergio Gomez both wasted chances from the outside of the box for City, who were fielding a reserve team in preparation for their FA Cup and Champions League finals. Julian Alvarez’s header at the back post with the last shot of the first half also went wide. The visitors produced more, though not better, half-chances in a messy second half. While Alvarez had another close-range attempt stopped, Palmer saw a flick thankfully land into David Raya’s palms.
Around the hour mark, Brentford sought three handball shouts in rapid succession, with one going to Frank, and the game became stop-start with yellow cards and penalty claims. The game eventually came to life, and Pinnock discovered the victor. Bryan Mbeumo was in the box when Kevin Schade, who entered the game and transformed everything, surged down the right. The Cameroon attacker headed the ball back to Pinnock, who was closing down on Ederson when he blasted past him. Palmer’s flurry of three opportunities, which the city sought to capitalize on, were turned away by the two Brentford center-halves, but the Bees hung on for yet another impressive victory at the Gtech.
“Congratulations to Brentford, who pushed harder in the second half. They are experts at playing quickly, being aggressive, and moving quickly in all areas,” Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola said. “I have no issues with how properly we behaved. I told the players that it was their final game in the Premier League, which they had earned won. We now have two days free before we begin preparing for the first final on Wednesday. Brentford is by far the greatest team overall, not only in terms of set pieces. They make a remarkable team, and Thomas Frank is someone I’ve long admired. You get the impression and atmosphere that the club is united.”
“Of course it has meaning, but fans understand its significance better. They like the myth that City can complete the treble when we defeated them twice. For English football, I hope they win the Champions League since City has earned it over the past few seasons,” Brentford boss Thomas Frank said. “It’s unique. No matter who players City deploys, they are elite athletes. They boasted three of the world’s top players and eight elite players. We may have been entitled to additional points given that we received 59. We have the second-smallest budget, and there was a brief period this season when we went six games without a victory. Perhaps it was simply the Villa game at home where we were winning but didn’t get the victory.”
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