Erling Haaland continued his prolific form as Manchester City battled to a narrow victory over Brentford and gave boss Pep Guardiola his 250th Premier League win.

Guardiola is the quickest manager to reach the milestone having done so in just 349 games – 55 games quicker than anyone else.

Haaland outmuscled Sepp van den Berg to gather Josko Gvardiol’s looping cross, then wriggled away from the defender before precisely slotting past Caoimhin Kelleher.

It is the Norwegian striker’s third goal this week and his 18th in 11 games for club and country this season.

City had to hold on to their slim lead at the Gtech Community Stadium for more than 80 minutes but limited Brentford to few opportunities, despite the game opening up somewhat in a scrappy second half.

Victory moves City up to fifth before the international break, but there was concern for midfielder Rodri when he hobbled off with injury after just 21 minutes.

The Spaniard missed much of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and is yet to return to the form that won him the Ballon d’Or last year.

Brentford analysis: Defensive Bees suffer first home defeat

Victory against Manchester United last time out was a welcome result for the Bees who had earned just four points from their first five games.

Despite a somewhat disappointing start to the campaign, Brentford had not yet lost at home this season.

Under Thomas Frank, Brentford were often a problem team for Guardiola and were the only side to do the double over City in the Treble-winning campaign two years ago.

New Bees boss Keith Andrews, in his first managerial role, opted for a back five on Sunday with Kristoffer Ajer coming in for Dango Ouattara – and it left them starved of opportunities in the first 45 minutes.

For the first time in their 159 Premier League games, Brentford failed to record a single touch in their opponents’ penalty area in the first half.

The game opened up more after the break, with Michael Kayode heading over the bar while Brentford limited City to just one shot in a flat but scrappy second half.

The hosts' best chance came when Igor Thiago, who has scored five goals this season, found himself one on one with Gianluigi Donnarumma but the Italian keeper saved well.

Defeat leaves Brentford 16th in the table with two wins from seven matches.

Man City analysis: Visitors hold on but concern for Rodri

City knew they would claim ground on title rivals Liverpool – who lost again on Saturday – with a win and remain in touch with leaders Arsenal.

Three wins in their past four matches keeps Guardiola’s side firmly in the mix after two defeats in August – but he will still want City to punish their opponents when they are on top.

For all their dominance in possession, City could not find a second goal to put the game to bed and were at risk of once again suffering a late result-altering goal – as they did against Brighton and Arsenal in the league and Monaco earlier this week in the Champions League.

Tijjani Reijnders forced Kelleher into a good diving save when he struck well on the volley while Phil Foden dragged wide after some quick feet from Oscar Bobb, but they failed to build on that with no shots on target in the second half.

Guardiola will, however, be pleased his side were able to hold on in what felt a real slog.

The potential loss of Rodri is perhaps more of a concern for City, who know all too well how difficult life can be without him.

It is no coincidence that City’s worst season under Guardiola came last year when Rodri was out with an ACL injury. However, since his return the Spaniard has struggled to get going with sporadic appearances and several further knocks.

This latest setback will create questions over whether Rodri will be able to hit the same heights he did in 2023-24, having featured just 15 times since then. He missed last week’s match against Burnley because of knee pain.

Nico Gonzalez has deputised well at times but has not reached the level of City’s talismanic midfielder at his best.

What next for these two sides?

Following the international break, Brentford travel to West Ham on Monday, 20 October in the Premier League (20:00 BST kick-off).

Manchester City will face Everton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, 18 October (15:00). (BBC)

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