A stubborn Brentford display kept Manchester City at bay until Erling Haaland struck deep in the second half to steal a narrow 1-0 win, writes Nina Hristova.

Following a crushing 4-1 defeat against Liverpool on Saturday, the Bees reset in hopes to avenge a 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture 16 days prior.

After completing the double over City in their treble winning season, Frank counted on superstar Ivan Toney to replicate his clinical touch and stall the challengers, but his closest attempt came from a free kick that blazed inches above the bar.

A sublime goal line clearance from Ben Mee ensured the hosts stayed level at the break, sending a frustrated Pep Guardiola marching into the tunnel.

Thomas Frank had much to be proud about after his injury-ridden side showcased fight and urgency at the Gtech Community Stadium.

“We were perfect, we were just unlucky,” said Frank. “The players deserve so much praise for a top defensive performance.

“We only gave two chances away before the goal. We were very good defensively and created some dangerous situations but lacked the final spark.

"I’m incredibly proud. We didn't give much away until the goal – which is a slip. We can't give Erling Haaland a chance like this, but we kept him quiet besides that."

Brentford now sit five points above the relegation zone after just two wins in their last 11 league games, but the Dane feels confident they can improve their form.

“We’re back to that high-level defensive urgency,” added the Brentford coach.

“It seems that the margins aren’t going our way, but we’ll keep believing. We needed the top level again defensively, so we stepped forward.

“We are back on track I would say.”

With the West Londoners' defence looking largely solid in Manchester, their challenge now is to rediscover their goalscoring ways as an array of shots were comfortably collected by Ederson.  

Midfielder Frank Onyeka joined the Bees in attack and looked a threat in behind City’s backline but was frustrated not to find the net.

"It's a disappointing one. I thought we did well, but we couldn't get the win,” said Onyeka.

"We tried to defend as a team and counter attack.

"It’s sad that we didn’t get anything out of the game, but we’ll take the positive parts into the next."

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted they struggled against a disciplined Brentford side, praising their dominant display.

"They’re such a difficult team," said Guardiola.

“They have the ability with Ivan Toney – he’s a master player, a really good player. Other than that, they’re really good at free-kicks, throw-ins and so on.

"It was difficult and always will be against Thomas [Frank].”