It was the first time in Haaland’s Manchester City career that he did not have a single shot on goal.
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has explained how Brentford’s tenacious defense kept Manchester City’s Erling Haaland quiet on Saturday.
The city had a frustrating afternoon at the Etihad, with an Ivan Toney double securing the away side’s victory. For the Bees, the English striker was dominant, but his opener was canceled out by a Phil Foden equalizer.
As the Blues pushed for a winner deep into second-half stoppage time, they were caught on the break with Toney tapping in their second. While Thomas Frank’s side excelled in attack, their defense was the subject of praise from Wright on Match of the Day.
When asked about how they managed to keep Haaland quiet, the ex-striker credited the Londoner’s approach to the clash. “They did very well,” Wright admitted.
“It was like they had a plan for the front men and the back. They kept Kevin De Bruyne very quiet and you could see that [Mathias] Jorgensen, Ben Mee, and [Ethan] Pinnock were all over him (Haaland) when he was in the box.
“On the very few times that De Bruyne got out of Mathias Jensen’s vice-like grip, they just couldn’t get it going. With all the bodies in and around him, they were stopping the ball at the source.
“They completely deserved it (the victory) because they had a game plan.” Defeat for City, coupled with the victory for Arsenal at Wolves means Pep Guardiola’s side is five points off the Gunners heading into the World Cup break.
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