Manchester City did exactly what was needed as they celebrated a narrow 1-0 win against an inspired Brentford side in London. It was an early Phil Foden strike that opened the door for a win that completed a couple of excellent days for the Citizens. First, Liverpool suffered a loss in Leicester on Tuesday and then Brighton scored late to rob Chelsea of two points earlier on Wednesday. Guardiola’s team end the year with a handsome lead at the top of the Premier League standings.Brentford have been like a breath of fresh air since getting promoted to the Premier League for the very first time in their history. The Bees from London didn’t reach the English top flight just to make up the numbers but have instead made a few surprises against more reputable clubs. They faced a big test on Wednesday night against the best team in the country.Man City are EIGHT points clear at the top of the Premier League.Man City are EIGHT points clear at the top of the Premier League.Chelsea and Liverpool face each other on Sunday 👀 pic.twitter.com/DwQyEiqDiq— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 29, 2021 City got in front with a simple goal from Phil Foden. The little midfielder, with a new-look bleached hair, tucked away a Kevin De Bruyne cross, defying offside by only a few centimetres. But the Bees kept on coming forward and Pep Guardiola was thankful because Ederson is in such good form.The Brazilian goalie made a terrific save to deny Frank Onyeka early on and had to endure a few situations when his six-yard box was a lot more crowded than he’d prefer to. But City somehow held on and chose to keep possession as a means to preserving their lead.Backed by their noisy crowd, Brentford used every opportunity to venture into City’s half, but it was the visiting team who looked more likely to score. Belgian ace De Bruyne came close to adding a goal to his assist but was unlucky to see his long-range bouncing shot crack off Alvaro Fernandez’s right-hand post with 66 minutes gone.What is that thing called – a ‘Chelsea clean sheet’? Brighton deservedly snatch a point at Stamford BridgeThe longer the match went on, the tighter was the champions’ grip on the red and whites. De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho kept passing the ball around and trying to carve out openings for what would have been the killer second goal. Aymeric Laporte thought he’d scored in the dying minutes but his header was chalked off after a VAR review.In the end, Foden’s goal proved to be worth three points as City increased their lead over second-placed Chelsea to eight points. Liverpool are nine points behind the leaders, albeit with a game in hand. These are the days when title race could be decided and it’s Manchester City who are getting the points on the board…PREMIER LEAGUE – Round 20TuesdayWatford – West Ham 1-4 (1-2)/Dennis 4 – Soucek 27, Benrahma 29, Noble 58 pen, Vlasic 90+2/Southampton – Tottenham 1-1 (1-1)/Ward-Prowse 25 – Kane 41 pen, /Crystal Palace – Norwich 3-0 (3-0)/Edouard 8 pen, Mateta 38, Schlupp 42/Leicester – Liverpool 1-0 (0-0)/Lookman 59/Arsenal – Wolverhampton Wanderers POSTPONEDLeeds – Aston Villa POSTPONEDWednesdayChelsea – Brighton 1-1 (1-0)/Lukaku 28 – Welbeck 90+1/Brentford – Man.City 0-1 (0-1)/Foden 17/ThursdayEverton – Newcastle POSTPONED23.15: (1.40) Man.Utd. (4.90) Burnley (9.00)***odds are subject to change
