Phil Foden bags hattrick as Man City closes gap in EPL title race

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden bagged a stunning hattrick as Manchester City came from behind to beat Brentford 3-1 on Monday as Pep Guardiola’s side closed the gap on Liverpool and Arsenal.

Liverpool and Arsenal are in first and second position, respectively, on the Premier League table, with Liverpool leading with just two points. Manchester City’s win put them on 49 points alongside Arsenal, and Pep Guardiola’s side is in second place ahead of the Gunners based on goal difference thanks to Monday’s comeback win.

Thomas Frank’s Bees had a solid defensive structure that forced City to resort to long-range efforts and lots of them during the early exchanges. Furthermore, Mark Flekken in goal denied Julián Álvarez, Kyle Walker, Erling Haaland, and Joško Gvardiol in the opening 45 minutes.

He then went on to claim the assist for Neal Maupay’s opener, having launched a goal kick over the last line of defence for the striker to slot home. A poor clearance from Ethan Pinnock gave Manchester City the break they needed in first-half stoppage time, with Foden prodding home to level the scores.

After the break, Foden ghosted into the penalty area to head in Kevin De Bruyne’s deep cross, forcing Brentford to chase the game for the first time. Foden sealed his hattrick with time to spare by picking up Haaland’s lay-off, dribbling into the box, and firing in his eighth PL goal of the campaign.

“The [first] goal came at a great time; going into the break, equalising gives you a good feeling going into the second half. It’s so difficult here. They have given big teams problems, but I thought we deserved it. All I set myself is to try to better last year’s stats and just try to improve every year, with more goals and more assists. I need to keep going and showing this level of performance more often. I don’t score a lot of headers, so I’m delighted with that one.” Foden said.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu