Man City showed they had learnt their lesson after Erling Haaland criticism

Manchester City again dominated a first half and struggled after the break but this time they got the result as they held on to win at Brentford.

Manchester City stretched their unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions after a hard-fought 1-0 win against Brentford in the Premier League.

City dominated the first half at the Gtech Community Stadium and led through Erling Haaland's well-taken early goal as the Norwegian continued his remarkable run of goalscoring form.

But it was a different game after the break for the second time this week. This time City dug in defensively and held on for what could prove to be a crucial three points after Liverpool were beaten for the second time in a week.

Second-half approach

As City's first-half control ebbed away after the break at the Gtech Community Stadium, it wasn't hard to cast one's mind back to Monaco and a game that was beginning to feel eerily similar.

Just as they did in the Champions League, the Blues dominated the first 45 minutes and looked like they would go on to win comfortably, only for things to change after the break.

Haaland felt they gave up the initiative at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday. Here, it was hard to tell how much of the change was down to Brentford upping their level and intensity and how much was down to City changing what they were doing.

Keith Andrews' side certainly deserve credit for their efforts. They were the better team throughout the second half, with City struggling to create a notable chance.

But on this occasion, the Blues managed to hang on and that will be a big relief to Guardiola and his team, who deserve plenty of credit for the defensive steel they showed under a barrage of pressure.

Donnarumma's big save

City could have had a waxwork of Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal in the first half of this game, such was their dominance. It was the first time in 159 games in the Premier League that Brentford didn't manage a touch in the opposition's penalty area in the first half of a match.

But the mood music shifted after the break and the hosts came out with a bit of bite in their play, making it a much more even contest and forcing City to hang on to their lead at times.

That was certainly the case early on and some sloppy defending from Josko Gvardiol presented Igor Thiago with his second one-on-one in the space of a week. He finished ruthlessly against Manchester United last week, but couldn't do so this time.

He never looked confident and maybe that is due to Donnarumma. He is a big, imposing presence and stood tall in front of Thiago, saving with his body when the striker tried to dink a finish. It was particularly impressive given the Italian had had nothing to do in the game until that moment.

Rodri woes continue

When he faced the press on Friday, Guardiola gave the impression of someone who was fed up of answering questions about Rodri, calling for patience with the 29-year-old.

Guardiola suggested that this season will be almost all about Rodri returning to full fitness and trying to find his best form. As if to prove the point, the holding midfielder grabbed his hamstring inside the first 20 minutes at Brentford.

Muscle injuries aren't uncommon for players who have spent so long on the sidelines recovering from ACL injuries and Rodri is enduring a pretty typical stop-start return from a major injury.

When he has played, he has found it difficult to consistently locate his best form, and this injury could yield another spell on the sidelines and only add to the struggle to find some rhythm.

Nico Gonzalez is Rodri's stand-in, but the feeling persists he doesn't entirely have Guardiola's trust. He spoke about the ball recoveries the midfielder made against Monaco when he came on last week, but his passing can be too cautious and that is clearly something Guardiola wants him to improve. He was on his case early in the second half, demanding he takes a touch rather than try and a first-time shot.

O'Reilly's run

It took Nico O'Reilly until the start of April to reach seven starts for City last season. This time around the 20-year-old has done it by the start of October and they have all come in a row.

The academy graduate has started every game between the September and October international breaks, standing in at left-back for Rayan Ait-Nouri, who might be wondering how he gets back into this team.

O'Reilly might not be City's first-choice left-back, and he might not even be a left-back, but the fact he is being mentioned in dispatches for the England senior side shows what an excellent job he is doing in that position.

Title race picture

It's been a big week in the title race but the narrative has mostly focused on Liverpool and Arsenal. The reigning champions have lost twice and the pretenders have won twice, including coming from behind to beat Newcastle last weekend.

But City are quietly going about their business and they have had a good week as well, even if this victory was one they had to grind out with a difficult second half.

They are now two points behind Liverpool and three behind Arsenal, having already been to the Emirates and secured a draw. They are right in this title race.