Erling Haaland struck early to earn Manchester City a narrow 1-0 win over Brentford on Sunday.
The Norwegian bagged after just nine minutes to hand City the lead, extending his tally to nine goals in seven Premier League appearances to start the campaign.
Though Brentford had their moments, they never truly threatened a comeback, with Pep Guardiola’s men in almost complete control.
Sunday’s win lifts City into fifth, just three points off leaders Arsenal, while Brentford are 16th.
Here are the full player ratings from Sunday’s game, based on our Squawka Score.
The Squawka Score is our proprietary performance rating, combining multiple Opta stats into a single percentage. It benchmarks players against their positional peers, allowing quick comparisons. Learn more about how it works here: https://www.squawka.com/en/news/squawka-score-explained/
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Table of contents
Brentford player ratings
Caoimhin Kelleher: 65%
Brentford would have been dead and buried without his excellent save to deny Tijjani Reijnders shortly before half-time — one of three saves he made across the afternoon.
Michael Kayode: 65%
Tried to give Brentford something going forward, but was all too often pushed back as Man City completely dominated territory and possession. Attempted four dribbles, completing one, and misdirected a header wide just before the hour.
Key stats:
- Accurate passes: 17/18 (94%)
- Shots attempted: 1
- Tackles: 2
- Clearances: 3
- Accurate crosses: 1/4 (25%)
Kristoffer Ajer: 60%
Caught high up the pitch on Haaland’s goal, though he could have expected a lot more help from his defensive partners. Defended resolutely otherwise with three tackles, two clearances, an interception, a block and three of four ground duels won.
Nathan Collins: 63%
Could’ve bailed out Van den Berg on the goal but couldn’t get a challenge in on Haaland, who also dominated Collins in the air, with the Irishman losing all four of his aerial duels. Was more composed with the ball on the floor, completing 35 passes at a 92% success rate.
Sepp van den Berg: 59%
Outfought by Haaland for the opening goal, with the Norwegian simply shrugging him off. Recovered for a decent performance after that, but the damage was already done.
Aaron Hicky: 56%
Applied himself well defensively, but lacked a bit of composure on the ball, being dispossessed twice and blazing a shot well over the bar near the end when Brentford were trying to build pressure.
Jordan Henderson: 57%
Showed more class than most in a Brentford shirt on the ball, completing 32 passes and 12 passes into the final third, while creating one chance. Ran out of steam in the final quarter of the match before being brought off.
Yehor Yarmoliuk: 55%
Struggled to get to grips with the game before limping off 15 minutes from the end. Just 29 touches and 11 completed passes, though he did work hard to try and disrupt City’s play when he could.
Mikkel Damsgaard: 62%
Worked hard without the ball, making three tackles, two interceptions, one block and one clearance, though he was dribbled past five times. Failed to really do much when he actually got possession, with zero shots or chances created.
Kevin Schade: 59%
Earned a foolish yellow card for trying to get an opponent booked. Chased down Donnarumma to win a corner near the end, but was otherwise a passenger, with just 22 touches, four passes completed and a 0% success rate on dribbles.
Igor Thiago: 43%
Had limited service and failed with the big moments when they came, especially his one-on-one against Donnarumma right after half-time. Had just 18 touches of the ball and managed just six completed passes from 11 attempts in an isolated outing.
Mathias Jensen: 58%
Tried to add a bit of urgency to Brentford’s play but couldn’t find a decisive moment.
Dango Ouattara: 53%
Got stuck in, but completely lacked quality on the ball, completing none of his four passes or two crosses.
Frank Onyeka: 62%
Completed all six of his passes, including two into the final third as he looked to get the Bees moving forward.
Vitaly Janelt: 59%
Asked some questions of Man City with a lively performance from the bench, but it wasn’t enough.
Fabio Carvalho: N/A
Brought on right at the end with no time to make a difference.
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Manchester City player ratings
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 76%
Made a great one-on-one save to deny Thiago right after half-time in what was a decisive moment in the match. Unconvincing with the ball at times, including that moment Schade chased him down near the end.
Key stats:
- Saves: 1
- High claims: 2
- Punches: 1
- Accurate passes: 23/27 (85%)
- Goals prevented: 0.32
Matheus Nunes: 65%
90 completed passes is a phenomenal total for a player lining up as a full-back. Of course, Nunes effectively played as an extra midfielder or winger, depending on what was required. That said, one tackle and three clearances show he’s capable of getting through the dirty work when it’s asked of him.
Ruben Dias: 74%
Given the freedom of the Gtech Community Stadium on the ball, with Brentford unwilling to put pressure on City defenders for fear of being opened up. Came up with some important defensive interventions, including six clearances, three interceptions, one block and a tackle. Won all four of his aerial duels.
Josko Gvardiol: 73%
Provided the assist for Haaland with a tempting pass behind the Brentford defence and completed a match-high 93 passes. Caught out in the air by Thiago on Brentford’s best chance of the match, but was flawless otherwise.
Nico O’Reilly: 69%
Another lively performance at full-back from the English youngster, who will be eyeing up Thomas Tuchel’s squad soon if he carries on. Created two chances — including one big chance — while playing five passes into the final third. Did the job defensively with four tackles, though he picked up a yellow card for time wasting on a throw-in near the end.
Rodri: 72%
Controlled the opening stages but was forced off midway through the first half with what appears to be a hamstring injury. Guardiola will be praying it doesn’t result in another serious layoff.
Tijjani Reijnders: 71%
Another very lively and clean performance, completing all three of his dribbles and both his long passes. A 94% overall pass completion rate and zero dispossessions really hammer home just how class he was on the ball. Had a decent look at goal in the 39th minute but was denied by a great Kelleher save.
Phil Foden: 68%
Looked desperate to get a goal, attempting five shots, but only found the target with one of them. That said, he kept his application high and ended the game with two chances created, while also chipping in at the back with two tackles and an interception.
Oscar Bobb: 68%
Slowly becoming more and more important to this City team and repaid Guardiola for the start with three chances created and a match-high four dribbles completed from five attempts. Eight touches in the opposition box and seven of 10 overall duels won; Bobb was a menace at times on Sunday.
Erling Haaland: 63%
Settled the game after just nine minutes with his first-ever goal at the Gtech Community Stadium. Anfield now stands as the only Premier League ground at which Erling Haaland has played but failed to score. Bullied Brentford at times with his physicality and also popped up with regularity in his own box to help City see out the win.
Savinho: 50%
A functional performance, but failed to make his mark, with zero shots, chances created or successful dribbles.
Nico Gonzalez: 69%
Filled in superbly for Rodri, making a match-high four tackles, as well as three clearances and an interception. Not quite as incisive as his compatriot on the ball, but four passes into the final third and an 88% pass completion rate are not to be sniffed at.
Jeremy Doku: 50%
Helped see out the game without doing anything too exciting.
Bernardo Silva: 60%
Completed 15 of his 17 passes and made two clearances to help City over the line.