Brentford, known for their free-flowing football, struggled to find their footing early on. It was a long ball forward from Joško Gvardiol that led to City's opener, as Erling Haaland muscled Sepp van den Berg off the ball before hammering the ball past Caoimhin Kelleher at his near post.

City dominated the early stages of the game, but their afternoon took a turn for the worse when Rodri went down with an injury and was forced off the field. Despite this setback, City continued to create scoring opportunities, with Tijjani Reijnders coming close to doubling the lead with a stunning one-handed reaction save from Kelleher.

Brentford offered little in terms of attacking play before halftime, but they created a clear chance within two minutes of the restart. Igor Thiago strode clear on goal, but a heavy touch allowed Gianluigi Donnarumma to smother the Brazilian's dinked effort.

Brentford continued to push for an equalizer in the second half, with Michael Kayode wasting a promising opportunity when he headed the ball over the far post. City, however, held firm, and despite being pinned back at times, they managed to secure the win and move to within three points of the Premier League summit.

Brentford, on the other hand, remain firmly in the lower echelons of the Premier League, but they at least head into the international break outside of the drop zone.