EPL: Why Man City fall to Brentford 2-1 at Etihad – Guardiola

By Adeleye Kunle

Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola, has explained why his team lost 2-1 to Brentford in Saturday’s Premier League tie.

Guardiola said Brentford won against Man City because his players had a lot of problems and couldn’t high-press the visitors during the encounter.

The former Barcelona and Bayern manager watched as Brentford defeated Man City at the Etihad Stadium.

A brace from Ivan Toney gave Brentford all three points against Guardiola’s side, as Phil Foden’s goal was not enough for the host.

“The better team won. We had a lot of problems, we could not high-press because of the balls [from] keeper to the striker,” Guardiola said at his post-match press conference.

He added: “In the first 15-16 minutes, they had two clear chances and then we’ve the momentum, we attack a little bit quicker – right cross, left cross, and we make a little bit more of a process.

“In the second half, we started well and then there was a break of 10 minutes. Every time break, long balls, we couldn’t win it.

“Tactically, we had problems to control. We struggled to control the long balls from Raya to Tony. You have to be brilliant in the small spaces and we weren’t.”