‘This is impressive’

Man City boss Pep Guardiola hails team after defending champions cruise past Brentford 2-0 to take commanding 12-point lead atop the EPL league table

Pep Guardiola warned many hurdles still lie in the way of Manchester City and a fourth Premier League title in five years after sweeping aside Brentford 2-0 to go 12 points clear at the top of the table. 

Guardiola’s men were not at their scintillating best at the Etihad, but still had far too much for a Brentford side that risk being dragged into a relegation battle. The Bees had held out bravely for 40 minutes until a mistimed tackle from Mads Roerslev brought down Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez coolly slotted away the penalty. 

Pep Guardiola

Nervy finish

The hosts never looked in danger of conceding as they registered a 14th clean sheet in 24 league games this season. However, Guardiola’s celebrations when the second goal finally arrived 20 minutes from time told the story of nerves beginning to build around the Etihad that their dominance was not showing on the scoreboard. Brentford’s determination to play out from the back caught them out as David Raya passed straight to Sterling. The Spanish goalkeeper redeemed himself by saving a one-on-one with the England international, but the ball fell for Kevin De Bruyne to roll in his eighth goal of the season. 

Difficult team

“They are so difficult to attack,” said Guardiola. “You have to be patient, make no mistakes and in the end we got the result.” City have registered 100 and 98 points in two of their previous title-winning seasons under Guardiola and are setting a similar pace with 60 points already in the bag. “Everyone is tough competition, but it is impressive at this stage to have 60 points. We have done incredibly well so far,” said Guardiola.

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