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EPL 2021-22: Pep Guardiola heaps praises for Phil Foden; adds title race is far from over for Manchester City

Manchester City secured a 1-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday night to tighten their grip on the top spot of the Premier League table.

football EPL 2021-22 brentford vs man city Pep Guardiola heaps praises for Phil Foden adds title race is far from over for manchester city
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London, First Published Dec 30, 2021, 1:24 PM IST

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Wednesday (December 29) insisted that the English Premier League (EPL) title race is far from over despite his team heading into 2022 eight points clear at the top. City, who has registered ten wins in a row, secured a 1-0 win over Brentford thanks to Phil Foden's first-half goal to tighten their grip on the top spot of the table after crucial slip-ups by Liverpool and Chelsea.

Following the win at Brentford, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said that the team has won the game and they are on a good run, but it is the end of December, and there are several games to go. "We are eight points in front, however there are 54 points still to play for and many tough games still to play," Guardiola added.

Admitting that Chelsea and Liverpool are more than exceptional, the Manchester City manager added, "I am not going to believe anyone who says it is already done. We have the distance not because they (Chelsea and Liverpool) dropped points, but because we won ten in a row."

Manchester City's winning goal against Brentford arrived in the 16th minute of the game when midfielder Kevin De Bruyne whipped a first-time cross from the right, which Phil Foden guided home with his in-step.

Also read: 'I am happy for Ferran Torres': Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after winger's Barcelona deal

Pep Guardiola heaped praises for Phil Foden, stating that the midfielder has always been outstanding and is a guy who can play in different positions at an 'exceptional level'. "We had no doubts about that. Did he have anything to prove? Absolutely not," the City boss added.

Manchester City, however, would not be pleased with the scoreline at the end of the Brentford clash. Guardiola's side could have scored more after the break. Less than a minute into the second half, Phil Foden missed a header from another Kevin De Bruyne cross. Both Foden and Aymeric Laporte had the ball in the net but were pulled up for offside. Meanwhile, De Bruyne hit the goal post with a skidding effort from the edge of the arena, eventually leaving City with just one goal to their scoreline.

Brentford did put up a fight, which saw Yoane Wissa's shot cleared off the line by Joa Cancelo. Pep Guardiola conceded that every time Brentford put the ball in the box, they were good. "Just look at the results Brentford has done this season. It has been so tight. They are exceptional at what they do, and that's why the game we played was perfect today," Guardiola commented.

Meanwhile, Brentford boss Thomas Frank lauded his side's incredible, unbelievable and fantastic performance during the game, especially in the first half. Frank added that despite being the best team in Europe, Manchester City has their moments when they are not in good form, which worked in Brentford's favour.

"We gave one chance away in 45 minutes and created three opportunities. Unfortunately, we lacked a cutting edge in the second half. But I'm incredibly proud and thought we deserved at least a point," the Brentford boss added.

Manchester City will now travel to Emirates Stadium, where they will face an in-form Arsenal on Saturday (January 1, 2022), while Brentford with host Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa on Super Sunday.

Also read: EPL 2021-22, Arsenal vs Man City: Gunners' assistant coaches have big shoes to fill in Mikel Arteta's absence

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