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Manchester City Fall Short at Brentford with Treble in Mind

By Mark Temnycky

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 03: Pep Guardiola the manager of Manchester City reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on May 03, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 03: Pep Guardiola the manager of Manchester City reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on May 03, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images) /
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Having secured the English Premier League title on 21 May, Manchester City will now focus on the FA Cup Final and Champions League Final. The change in focus was most apparent last weekend. Manchester City’s final match of the 2022/23 English Premier League season was against Brentford. Key players such as Erling Håland, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and İlkay Gündoğan were rested. Instead, several of City’s younger players featured in the match.

Ahead of the game on Championship Sunday, some Manchester City supporters greeted the club’s matchday squad and staff. “Champione, champione, ole, ole, ole!” was belted by the City faithful as the squad smiled and applauded. The team was friendly as they waved back to the fans.

Varying supporters groups were also present at the match. Members hailed from Washington, DC’s Capital City Blues, New York City’s New York Sky Blues, and Warwick and Leamington’s MCFC group, among other supporter groups across the globe. Before long, fans took their seats, and the match began.

The Sky Blues dominated the match against Brentford. Throughout the game, they maintained 66% of possession. They had 17 shots, created 13 dangerous chances, and completed 570 passes.

But like the reverse fixture against Brentford in December 2022, City dominated every statistic but the scoreline. Brentford goalkeeper David Raya had another strong performance, making several crucial saves during the match. Brentford’s defense also made things difficult for City, where the visitors struggled to make significant chances on goal.

Manchester City are on course to win a treble

Eventually, City were punished. After a missed foul on Phil Foden, referee John Brooks awarded the Bees with a free kick in the Sky Blue half. The free kick would be delivered to Bryan Mbeumo. The striker nodded the ball to teammate Ethan Pinnock, and he sloted the ball past Ederson. City would then up the tempo as they tried to find an equalizer, but alas it did not come. The match ended 1-0. Brentford put a sting to the end of City’s season, but the result would not overshadow the successes the Sky Blues have had over the course of the 2022/23 campaign.

At the end of the match, the City team and staff greeted the supporters at the away end. Håland also collected his 2022/23 golden boot award.

Having now concluded their 2022/24 EPL campaign, City will turn to the FA Cup Final against crosstown rivals Manchester United on June 3. City’s starters earned an important rest against Brentford, and now it is all to play for next weekend. Will the Sky Blues complete a domestic double ahead of the Champions League Final on June 10?