Erling Haaland may have looked human on his previous outing against Chelsea but there is still no one Manchester City fans would rather the ball fell to in the box, and the Norwegian demonstrated his knack for effortless finishing by firing them to a narrow 1-0 win over Brentford.
Pep Guardiola started without Kevin De Bruyne for City's game in hand and Brentford yet again refused to stand aside for the treble winners, doing the double on them last season and making them work for their 3-1 win in West London earlier this month.
Bernardo Silva, Haaland and Julian Alvarez all missed decent chances in the first half and Thomas Frank's side continued to frustrate the treble winners after the interval. But they finally caved in when they lost the ball high up the pitch and City broke, with Alvarez playing in Haaland.
The Norwegian had just one defender to beat and his job was made far easier when Kristoffer Ajer buckled to the floor, leaving just goalkeeper Mark Flekken in his way. Haaland duly delivered, rifling into the bottom corner to send City second in the table, just one point behind Liverpool.
GOAL rates Man City's players from a relieved Etihad Stadium...
