Man City win at Brentford thanks to Haaland, but lose Rodri again

It never gets dull with Erling Haaland, especially regarding those incredible stats involving the goals he has scored.

Take that one he scored today against Brentford away for a 1-0 win in the last Premier League game before the international break. Not only was it the decisive and, in fact, the only goal of the match, but it was quite a milestone for the Norwegian beast - he has now scored at 22 of the 23 stadiums he has played at in the EPL, the highest ratio of any player in Premier League history (96%).

Until today, Gtech Stadium was one of only two he's played at without scoring in England's top division. From this Sunday, only one left - Anfield.

OK, but how he did it against the Bees, you might ask. Haaland ran onto Josko Gvardiol's long ball over the top, beat Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins and slammed the ball beyond Caoimhin Kelleher for a memorable celebration with his teammates and Manchester City supporters.

It all happened in the ninth minute, and at that point, we were sure Pep Guardiola's men would add a few more to their account before the final whistle. Instead, Kelleher proved to be a remarkable shot-stopper and prevented mostly Phil Foden from joining Haaland on that scoreboard. The ex-Liverpool custodian made a handful of saves, probably frustrating Pep himself and all of City's fans.

What scared them were the scenes around the 20-minute mark, as Rodri fell to the ground in pain. He was subbed off due to a hamstring injury, and believe it or not, Rodri was substituted before half-time for the second time across his last five Premier League starts.

When it comes to Brentford, after that more than shy opening half, the home side showed a bit of courage and determination later and was almost awarded for it when Igor Thiago went one-on-one with Gianluigi Donnarumma. Although he had all the time in the world to finish it smoothly past the Italian keeper, the Brazilian forward was too clumsy, and Brentford's best opportunity ended in Donnarumma's fine save.

Manchester City are now fifth, slowly returning to the top. After the international break, their next challenge will be against Everton at home before they travel to Birmingham to face Aston Villa.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 7

Friday

Bournemouth - Fulham 3-1 (0-0)

/Semenyo 78, 90+6, Kluivert 84 - Sessegnon 70/

Saturday

Leeds - Tottenham 1-2 (1-1)

/Okafor 34 - Tel 23, Kudus 57/

Arsenal - West Ham 2-0 (1-0)

/Rice 38, Saka 67 pen/

Manchester United - Sunderland 2-0 (2-0)

/Mount 8, Sesko 31/

Chelsea - Liverpool 2-1 (1-0)

/Caicedo 14, Estevao 90+5 - Gakpo 63/

Sunday

Aston Villa - Burnley 2-1 (1-0)

/Malen 25,63 - Ugochukwu 78/

Everton - Crystal Palace 2-1 (0-1)

/Ndiaye 76 pen, Grealish 90+3 - Munoz 37/

Newcastle - Nottingham Forest 2-0 (0-0)

/Guimaraes 58, Woltemade 84 pen/

Wolves - Brighton 1-1 (1-0)

/Verbruggen 21 og - Van Hecke 86/

Brentford - Manchester City 0-1 (0-1)

/Haaland 9/