Manchester City made short work of Brentford in the Premier League on Wednesday night with a 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Goals either side of half-time from Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne put Man City on course for a direct win which saw Pep Guardiola’s side extend their lead to 12 points over Liverpool, who have two matches in hand, including Thursday’s home game against Leicester City. .
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Man City took the lead from the penalty spot just before Mahrez’s break after Mads Roerslev fouled Raheem Sterling in the box. The Algerian international has now scored in seven consecutive games for his club.
De Bruyne doubled the hosts’ lead in the 69th minute after a rebound from a Sterling shot fell on him and he beat Brentford keeper David Raya from a tight angle.
The rest of the game was a walk for City, who could easily have added to the lead, as they extended their unbeaten run to 14 league games and moved further away from second-placed Liverpool.
Brentford’s struggles continued after a fifth league defeat in a row brought them closer to the relegation zone. They are 14th, six points above Norwich City in 18th, having played one game more.
“It was a tough game,” said City coach Pep Guardiola. “They defend in high pressing, then deep and compact. There was no space between midfield and attack. We had to be patient and not make mistakes.
“It was an important victory in a difficult game that we expected. We are in a good position. I don’t know if we are the best, but we are happy to be at 60 points.”
Since losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace in October, City had won their last six Premier League home games by an aggregate score of 20-4 before visiting Brentford – just out-of-form opponent Thomas Frank didn’t want to. not be oriented.
But aside from an effort from Joao Cancelo which was collected over the top and side foot from Aymeric Laporte, Brentford looked comfortable in their quest to blunt the league’s relentless leaders for most of the first half. time.
City didn’t need to step up a gear in the second half, such was their control. They netted a second without much effort, as Raya fed the ball straight to Sterling, whose shot was blocked in De Bruyne’s path, with the Belgian netting his seventh league goal of the season into the empty net.
Spain midfielder Rodri nearly made it three late but Raya kept his shot scuffed, City keeper Ederson seeing off the 100th Premier League clean sheet under Guardiola with ease at the other end.
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