Manchester City vs Brentford; Premier League
Manchester City vs Brentford. Premier League.
Etihad Stadium.
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Man City 3-0 Brentford: Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush on target as Pep Guardiola's side cut gap to Arsenal to two points
Report and free match highlights as Man City beat Brentford to close the gap to Arsenal to two points; Jeremy Doku opened the scoring before goals from Erling Haaland and substitute Omar Marmoush; Brentford were aggrieved by refereeing decisions
Saturday 9 May 2026 20:34, UK
Manchester City moved two points behind Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table and boosted their goal difference as three second-half goals clinched a big win over Brentford.
Jeremy Doku, whose double salvaged a 3-3 draw with Everton on Monday, produced an almost identical curling finish to break the deadlock in the 60th minute before Haaland backheeled a close-range second then set up the third for Omar Marmoush.
The victory keeps the pressure on Arsenal ahead of their game against West Ham at the London Stadium on Super Sunday, and means they are only one goal behind the leaders on goal difference.
Brentford were aggrieved by several refereeing decisions that went against them, the first of which saw Matheus Nunes cleared by VAR after a last-man challenge on Kevin Schade which sent the Brentford forward tumbling to the ground.
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Later in a tense first half, a prone Bernardo Silva was only booked for hitting out at the leg of Brentford defender Nathan Collins with his arm. Brentford had a penalty appeal turned down in the second half after another coming together between Nunes and Schade.
Brentford gave City some awkward moments in the first period and had a chance to go in front early in the second when Igor Thiago shot too close to Gianluigi Donnarumma when played in behind, but City soon overwhelmed them, racking up 25 shots to the visitors' four.
Doku's superb strike, his fourth in three games in all competitions, opened the floodgates, with Haaland then flicking home his 26th of the season in the Premier League following a goalmouth scramble before teeing up substitute Marmoush in stoppage time.
Phil Foden, another substitute, also had chances to get on the scoresheet but was twice denied by Caoimhin Kelleher.
The result keeps Manchester City's title hopes alive while denting Brentford's European aspirations. Keith Andrews' side now sit outside the European places in eighth with two games to play.
WATCH: The key moments
Analysis: Doku peaking at the right time?
The three-goal margin of victory made it look straightforward for City but it took a moment of brilliance from Doku, another one, to break an edgy game open. The 23-year-old has hit form at the right time.
Doku's goal was almost a carbon copy of the two he scored against Everton, curled into the far corner of the net with his right foot from the left-hand side of the box. Aaron Hickey pre-empted it by back-peddling to the goal-line but still couldn't prevent it.
As well as being remarkably similar in their execution, all three of his goals in the last five days have been crucial, either putting Manchester City in the lead or, in the case of his 97th-minute strike at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, drawing them level.
Pep Guardiola expressed his delight after his latest heroics. "He looks like the final product," he told Sky Sports. Doku has always had "incredible" dribbling ability, he added, but he now appears to have taken the crucial step of adding goals to his game too.
While the flow from City's other supporting forwards has dried up - Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki have scored two Premier League goals between them since the start of March - Doku is delivering when it matters most. City's title bid is alive thanks to him.
Guardiola: Doku has made a step up
Man City boss Pep Guardiola to Sky Sports: "A really tough opponent. This season they have proved that everywhere they have played.
"The transitions, the set-pieces, the throw-ins. We suffered in the first minutes but after that we played a really good game, especially on the left side in the first half. In the second half, on both sides.
"Jeremy is outstanding in many things. The difference in the second half was that we put more players in the box. That was why we struggled to create the final product in the first half. In the end, we take a great result and keep going."
On Doku, he added: "He looks like the final product. Of course he can improve but he always had this incredible ability to dribble. The connection with Nico [O'Reilly] is extraordinary.
"But now he is winning games. I'm so incredibly pleased with Omar [Marmoush] as well. I had the feeling that not just Erling but the wingers and other attackers had to score goals and Jeremy has made this step."
Andrews: We should have had a penalty
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews to Sky Sports: "There was a lot going on for the officials. I'm always first to say what a difficult job they have, and what they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
"It's difficult with all the contentious issues, the playacting.
"I thought Kevin Schade's one in the second half was a penalty. I will say that. So that was really disappointing."
Speaking to the BBC, Andrews added: "I just look at the second one and every time I've looked at it - and I've looked at it three or four times - there's no way Kevin would go down.
"The comment that was made was 'there wasn't enough contact'. But Kevin's one of the quickest players in the league. When he's moving at such speed, it's only going to take a bit of contact. He's got the goal gaping. So that one was a penalty."
Man City's unbeaten run continues
- Manchester City have extended their unbeaten run to 13 games in the Premier League (W9 D4).
- City have scored three or more goals in more games than any other side this term (14).
- Jeremy Doku has scored in three successive appearances in all competitions for the first time in his Manchester City career.
- The Belgian has seven goal involvements in his last six games (five goals, two assists) - as many as in his previous 24 (one goal, six assists).
- Bernardo Silva became just the third Manchester City player to be shown 10 or more yellow cards in a single Premier League campaign after Joey Barton (10 in 2006/07) and Pablo Zabaleta (11 in 2013/14).
