Erling Haaland's first-half strike earned Man City a hard-fought 1-0 win at Brentford, which moves them to within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal - but an injury to Rodri was a worrying blow.
2025/2026 Premier League
0-1
Match Report
City were completely dominant during a first half which saw in-form Haaland bulldoze past Sepp van den Berg to blast in his 18th goal of the season for club and country.
Caoimhin Kelleher also made a stunning stop from Tijjani Reijnders, while Phil Foden missed a string of chances. Brentford didn't manage a touch in the City box and the visitors should have been out of sight.
But Rodri's exit on 20 minutes after he pulled up clutching his right thigh will concern Pep Guardiola, who had been managing the midfielder's minutes as he continued to build up his fitness after his long ACL layoff last season.
Rodri's absence was a big factor in Man City's drop-off last term and City lost their stranglehold on this contest after the break, as Brentford upped the intensity. Igor Thiago squandered their best chance, allowing Gianluigi Donnarumma the opportunity to close him down in a one-on-one situation. There was an onslaught of high balls into the City box too.
But City - who conceded a last-gasp equaliser at Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday - stood up and held on to go into the international break on a seven-game unbeaten run and in an encouraging league position. Brentford - who failed to score for the first time this season - remain 16th.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
0' Bobb pulling a ball back for Foden unmarked, but he can only drag an effort wide
6' A driving run from Reijnders almost presents the midfielder with a one-vs-one
9' Haaland has now scored 12 goals in 9 games for Man City! Brentford 0-1 Man City
14' Reijnders' shot flies to sky
21' Rodri is injured, and is visibly distressed
40' Reijnders on the volley forces an excellent one-handed save from the goalkeeper
46' Yellow Card! Kevin Schade booked
47' Donnarumma denies Igor Thiago in a one-versus-one
57' Kayode heads narrowly over and Yarmo has a pair of efforts blocked
63' Highlight from Brentford vs Man City
70' Yellow Card! Henderson booked
76' Subs: Doku and Bernardo replace Oscar Bobb and Tijjani Reijnders
77' Yellow Card: Matheus Nunes (Delaying restart of play)
84' Yellow Card! Dango Ouattara booked
Line-ups
Brentford XI: Henderson, Kristoffer Ajer, Kelleher, Mikkel Damsgaard, Van den Berg, Aaron Hickey, Nathan Collins, Kevin Schade, Igor Thiago, Yegor Yarmolyuk, Michael Kayode
Subs: Rico Henry, Mathias Jensen, Janelt, Ethan Pinnock, Frank Onyeka, Hákon Valdimarsson, Fabio Carvalho, Keane Lewis-Potter, Dango Ouattara
Man City XI: Ruben Dias, Donnarumma, Rodri, Haaland, Foden, Reijnders, Matheus Nunes, Gvardiol, Bobb, Savinho, Nico O'Reilly
Subs: Kovacic, Ake, Stones, Bernardo Silva, Nico González, James Trafford, Cherki, Doku, Lewis