Ivan Toney surprised Manchester City by scoring twice as Brentford defeated them 2-1 at the Etihad on Saturday, avenging his exclusion from the England World Cup selection.
Pep Guardiola forewarned ahead of time that his players might play with “one eye” on avoiding injuries in time for the World Cup, and the City manager’s worries came true as the champions suffered their first home loss since February.
If Arsenal defeats Wolves later on Saturday, City may suddenly enter the World Cup five points behind the leaders.
Guardiola named a starting lineup with 10 players travelling to Qatar despite his worries.
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As Norway was unable to advance, Erling Haaland was the lone exception. Due to a foot ailment, he started again after missing the previous six games.
Haaland was, however, outdone by his counterpart for once as Toney delivered the ideal retort to being ignored by Gareth Southgate.
When Toney shot too near to Ederson early on and had just the goalkeeper to beat, he should have opened the scoring.
Ben Mee nodded in a free-kick, and Toney rose above Aymeric Laporte to head in his 10th goal of the year as City failed to heed the warning.
The hosts were roused from their slumber by falling behind, but anger spread throughout the Etihad when a number of VAR reviews for penalties were overturned.
As Rico Henry’s handball occurred just beyond the area, he was spared the most serious accusations, whereas Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were found to have fallen to the ground too quickly.
A De Bruyne corner was expertly headed into the top corner by Phil Foden in first-half stoppage time to give City a point.
Aymeric Laporte needed seven minutes of treatment for a head injury, delaying the start of the second period.
With multiple bandages covering a cut, Laporte continued to play and saved City with an incredible goal-line clearance to prevent Bryan Mbuemo from tapping in Henry’s cross.
Ilkay Gundogan could have completed a brilliant team move in which City ripped Brentford open after exchanging a one-two with Haaland, but they struggled to find their normal passing rhythm.
When Ederson spread himself well to narrow the angle in a one-on-one and block at his near post, Toney appeared to have lost the chance to win the game.
However, a slick counterattack from the visitors caught City off guard as Yoane Wissa and Josh Dasilva worked together to set up Toney for a tap-in.
