(Premier League 2022/2023): Highlights Brentford - Manchester City

The Champions Victory Tour has now moved to West London and following the draw at Brighton and the win against Chelsea last Sunday, the Blues now face a Brentford side who are the only one that City haven't beaten so far this season. They've won against every other opponent they've faced including in the Champions League, so today would complete a full house a week on from their official Premier League coronation. Terrific day for Brentford, they've never finished as high as this in the Premier League era. Interestingly they did finish fifth, sixth and sixth in the old first division as the first chance comes away of Cole Palmer and his shot was parried by David Raya. It wasn't a particularly great move, it just suddenly broke for him really and he hit a shot and the goalkeeper Raya did well to tip it away from goal. The subs today Erling Haaland and John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan but it's probably worth mentioning too that Shane Charles, Alex Robertson and Ben Knight will be looking for a first team debut today. Now Brentford are coming forward and the flag has stayed down and City are wide open here and Brentford will hit the inside of the post and now the flag goes up for offside. Well of course that's the rule these days, Whistler went through, got beyond Edison but clipped the post and then the flag was raised by Ian Hussin. Oh it was tight and I suspect VAR would probably have confirmed that it was offside. Jürgensen takes in a big deep breath and then hurls a bomb at the near post area and Brentford have a chance and that's the first save of the match from Edison, it was Ben Mead who'd come forward for the set-piece routine on the near post and it broke for him and he swivelled like a centre forward to be fair to him. Walker out wide and here's the ball in the possession of Márez, Márez now on the right edge of the penalty area, checks and helps it across and City clipped it in towards Foden, Palmer now in a shooting position, tries a little chip, it was a good idea but he didn't get the trajectory right, it was a half chance for Palmer, had to take it quickly, first touch was good, little click chip was decent but it never had the direction necessary to get over Ryer and into his net, still a nil-nil. Another cross comes into the City penalty area, it's a deep one, it's to the far post, Brentford have kept it alive, it's hooked away by Ake, still not away from City and now it is, Brentford have it with Rico Henry and he goes back almost towards the halfway line and bemo's the deepest man, he clips it forward, a good cross and now they're in behind City, this could be a chance, good challenge, claim of a handball against the sliding Rico Lewis, a shot towards Edison who holds on to the ball, Brentford say they have to have a penalty, John Brook says absolutely no way, VAR who are checking it, led by Darren Bond and Darren Kan, not sure that they're going to give anything, that was where there was a claim of handball against Rico Lewis when he slid in to get a challenge on Ben Mee and it hit his arm but he was surely just trying to win the tackle, in the middle third City and on it goes to Ake, Ake coming forward, holding on to the ball, it's a good ball as well and City now advancing with Foden and onto Alvarez on the edge of the area, turns away but he has his route blocked, he then hits a shot just beyond the post, it was a good effort from Alvarez but it bounced and went wide of David Rea's right-hand post, he hurled himself at it the goalkeeper, wasn't sure where it was going, the answer, wide, good effort though from Julian Alvarez, ball is with Rico Lewis, he's about 30 metres from goal, he plays it across and back it goes from Walker to Mahrez and Mahrez back to Walker City in and around the final third, on it goes to Ake, Ake to Foden, Foden tries to play it in little one-two, he looks for the return, Alvarez hits the shot and it's smuggled away for a corner by Pinnock, still trying to find a way past this very well drilled Brentford lineup and it's good to see Shea Charles who has played for the Northern Ireland full-side and has been a regular for the under-21s and then the under-18s and he comes on for his Manchester City debut, proud day indeed for him, Guardiola would be absolutely thrilled with the fact that Nathan Ake gave him a wonderful 62 minutes and looks fresh, certainly clear of injury, that's surely offside, the referee doesn't get the signal and Jash De Silva's down the right wing here, getting to the edge of the penalty area but he's given it straight to Laporte and Laporte finds Lewis and now can City counter because Brentford are out of position here and it's a good ball as well and Foden's coming forward and he keeps on coming and he's trying to get around the outside of Pinnock and Pinnock has won the duel, wondered if it was a foul, referee said no, six and six and a half minutes to go and then there's a foul by Rico Lewis on Umbema, Rico Lewis says how is that a bookable offence, how is that not a foul on Phil Foden, roughly six minutes from full-time, Brentford nil, City nil, now Brentford coming forward they're around the outside and cross into the area, across the face of the goal and they scored, the marking wasn't great from City and it broke for Pinnock and Pinnock slams it into the back of the City net and Brentford celebrate as if they've won the Premier League trophy, what they've probably done is maybe completed a league double against the champions and it is City now one nil down against the Brentford side who look as though they're going to become the first team this season not to be beaten by City but also in the process the first team to do the double and of course it will be the only team to do the double over City this season City have the ball with Shea Charles on the halfway line and it goes to Laporte and into the gap for Palmer and wide comes City with Foden, Foden comes infield, lovely jinking run from Foden across to Rico Lewis and on it goes towards Mahrez, Mahrez is forced away from goal and indeed he's still got it though he plays a lovely diagonal ball, City keep it alive on the far and they might equalise, no they won't it's blocked, Palmer I thought was going to score and again it's off the line, Cole Palmer looks as though he should score not once but twice and somehow it didn't go in, it was a block initially but I think on the second chance I think he just mishits it, the first one's blocked, oh he should score, he should score, I think he hits Ben Meet on the line, what an opportunity for the Blues, a chance for Cole Palmer to score his first ever Premier League goal, he should have scored there and it's a league double for Brentford but let's be truthful there'll be very very few concerns on the face of Pep Guardiola, the most important thing was that everyone has come through this match unscathed and Pep Guardiola will have a full squad to pick from for the FA Cup final next weekend the final score at the Brentford Community Stadium it is Brentford 1 City 0