Foden hits hat-trick as Man City fight back to beat Brentford 3-1

AFP

Phil Foden scored a brilliantly composed hat-trick as Manchester City turned on the style to earn a 3-1 comeback win at battling Brentford on Monday and close to within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.

Despite almost constant City pressure, Brentford led with a Neal Maupay goal after 21 minutes, only for Foden to level just before halftime then add two more excellent goals as the visitors took control with another classy display of possession and probing.

Liverpool, beaten by Arsenal on Sunday, lead the table on 51 points from 23 games but City are up to 49 from 22 and Arsenal on 49 from 23.

"He always had an eye for a goal," City manager Pep Guardiola said of Foden. "He's got 250 games already and he's had an impact with goals this season. He's incredible.

"I think we deserved it but they are a really tough opponent. We had a lot of chances and their keeper was sensational."

Remarkably Brentford did the double over City last season, beating them 1-0 in London in the last game in May when the title was already secure, having won 2-1 at the Etihad in November.

Another win looked unlikely after the one-way early exchanges on Monday as Julian Alvarez, twice, and Kyle Walker had curling shots pushed wide by Brentford keeper Mark Flekken.

It was Brentford though who struck first, via a Sunday football goal, as Flekken launched a goal kick that Nathan Ake, under pressure from Ivan Toney, failed to touch. Maupay was left with a clear run on goal and calmly tucked the ball into the bottom corner after 21 minutes.

Maupay could not buy a goal while at Everton but has now scored five in the last five games in all competitions while on loan at Brentford.

Erling Haaland had a chance to equalise immediately but Flekken again came to the rescue with his feet, before saving yet again from Josko Gvardial.

Brentford then won a series of corners and provided the remarkable sight of nine of their men in the six-yard box with only one outfield player from each side occupying the remaining 90 metres of grass.

They came to nothing though and City levelled in first-half stoppage time when Foden seized on a weak clearance header, calmly chesting the ball down and sweeping it in with his side’s 17th attempt on goal in the half.

It was the ever-elusive Foden again who put them ahead after Kevin de Bruyne clipped in a perfect cross for the unmarked midfielder to glance home in the 53rd minute.

Spirited Brentford did have a flurry of attempts but City dealt with them before Foden completed his treble with another calm finish after a one-two with Haaland in the 70th minute.

The turnaround was hardly a surprise as City had won their last three away league games despite going behind, while Brentford are the worst in the league for throwing away leads – costing them a nominal 26 points already this season.

Brentford have collected three points from their last eight league games, losing seven of them, and have slipped to 15th, three points above the relegation zone.

"It was a good performance overall from us, we did a lot of things right," said manager Thomas Frank.

"In the first half we defended very well and limited them to shots outside the box, but in the second half they got a tiny bit of space and that made the difference."

More from Sports News

  • Austrian GP follows Miami in extending F1 contract to 2041

    The Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring will stay on the calendar through 2041 after announcing on Sunday a contract extension that equals Miami as the longest in Formula One.

  • Extra time goals see Chelsea down Benfica

    Chelsea scored three times in the second period of extra-time to hand 10-man Benfica a 4-1 defeat in Charlotte in their weather-affected last 16 Club World Cup clash on Saturday as the English side set up a quarter-final meeting with Brazil's Palmeiras.

  • Palmeiras eliminate Botafogo at Club World Cup

    Substitute Paulinho scored his second goal of the FIFA Club World Cup 10 minutes into extra time to lift Brazil's Palmeiras to a 1-0 victory over domestic rivals Botafogo in Saturday's second-round clash at Philadelphia.

  • Australia crush West Indies to win opening Test in Barbados

    Australia ruthlessly completed a 159-run victory over West Indies in the first test on Friday as Nathan Lyon swept up the tail after Josh Hazlewood's five-wicket masterclass broke the hosts' resistance on a pitch that deteriorated into a bowler's paradise.

  • Eala makes history for Philippines by reaching Eastbourne final

    Alexandra Eala became the first Filipino to reach a WTA Tour final as she beat fellow qualifier Varvara Gracheva 7-5 2-6 6-3 at the Eastbourne Open on Friday, while lucky loser Jenson Brooksby will meet holder Taylor Fritz in the men's final.

On Virgin Radio today

  • Virgin Radio Weekend

    11:00am - 7:00pm

    Playing 10 hits in a row every hour, all weekend!

  • American Top 40

    7:00pm - 10:00pm

    The biggest hits of the week direct from the USA

Trending on Virgin Radio