Related items

• 'I prefer to win that way', says Guardiola after battling Brentford triumph

  Pep Guardiola said he preferred Manchester City's win over Brentford as opposed to a more comfortable scoreline, confirming he is a big fan of Bees head coach Thomas Frank. 

  Erling Haaland's first-half brace ensured Guardiola's side maintained their perfect start to the season, but they had to come from behind to win 2-1 at the Etihad.

  Yoane Wissa's goal after 22 seconds handed Brentford a shock lead, with his strike the fastest ever scored in the Premier League against the reigning champions. 

  It was also the first time that City had ever conceded in the opening minute at home in the competition. 

  Frank's side were also the last to beat Guardiola's men on home soil in any competition, winning 2-1 in November 2022, with the Citizens now unbeaten in 46 at the Etihad in all competitions since (W39 D7). 

  "I am a big fan of Thomas Frank. I don't remember in eight or nine years having a team playing the way they played," Guardiola said.

  "We were lucky with the deflection because they deserved 1-0.

  "We struggled a lot to read when to shoot and press. We were lucky to find the goals, but in the second half we were better and probably deserved to score more goals.

  "We needed that to feel how difficult everything is, how difficult the Premier League is every game.

  "People say City are so strong, but the Premier League is so difficult. Today was the real proof.

  "I am a big fan of Brentford. They play long balls, but they have the ability to play as well.

  "I give a lot of credit to my players, from where we come from in the past, but to still be able to suffer. I prefer to win that way rather than four or five nil. We need that."

  City have now won back-to-back home games in the Premier League after conceding the opening goal for the first time since November 2019, while they are now unbeaten in their last eight matches (home and away) when conceding first in the competition (W7 D1).

  Brentford, meanwhile, have lost five of their seven meetings with City in the top flight - the joint-most defeats they have suffered against an opponent in the competition (alongside Liverpool & Newcastle).

  The Bees have now lost more Premier League away games (14) than any other side currently in the competition since the start of last season but provided the Citizens with a stern test of their title credentials. 

  While only managing an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.92 from their eight shots, Frank leaves the Etihad disappointed in the result, but proud of his side's performance.

  "Standing here I am a combination of extremely disappointed we didn't get something out of this game but on the other hand very proud," Frank said. 

  "The first 25 minutes was world class, we were better than Manchester City. Second half they were more on top and made it difficult.

  "A point would have been fair and not often teams can come here and say that.

  "You could say if we need to win here we needed to take more of the chances we had in the first half.

  "I respect Pep Guardiola very much and a lot of the reasons I do is because he made tactical changes at half-time, and then he is not too proud to put the ball down in the corner because they need to win. We must have done something right today.

  "This is a fantastic group to work with and we need to keep doing this."

• 'You cannot switch off for one second' - Silva rues late West Ham equaliser

  Marco Silva conceded Fulham "cannot switch off for one second" in the Premier League, after Danny Ings' last-gasp equaliser denied the Cottagers all three points against West Ham.

  The hosts appeared on course to take the spoils in the London derby at Craven Cottage, where Raul Jimenez put them in front after 24 minutes.

  However, the visitors snatched a dramatic equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time, when substitute Ings fired past Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

  And Silva acknowledged his side's brief lapse in concentration proved costly.

  "It just shows that in this Premier League, you cannot switch off for one second," he told BBC Sport. "We are aware of the quick throws, and we have to keep focus and concentration.

  "A big frustration for us because, before that, it was a good performance. It was clear we were the best team on the pitch. They did not have one shot [on target] in the first half.

  "We should have won this game. It was not a game where West Ham pushed us back. The goal came after we switched off. It just shows you have to keep focus until the last second."

  Silva also felt Fulham should have been awarded a first-half penalty when Adama Traore was challenged by Max Kilman.

  "It was a clear, clear, penalty in my opinion," he added. "It's difficult to understand why it was not a penalty in that situation. I don't even want to say anything more about it."

  Meanwhile, West Ham boss paid tribute to Ings, who was making only his second Premier League appearance of the season - with both coming as a late substitute.

  "It was a very 'Danny Ings' goal!", Lopetegui told West Ham's official website. "He is always agile in those kinds of actions, and he took his chance very well.

  "I'm really happy for him, because he hasn't played much up until now, but he is always ready to go. He is a really good example to all of his team-mates, and it's great to see his work pay off.

  "As a player, it can be hard when you don't know when the coach is going to call you. The important thing is to try and always be ready, because you are going to be needed at some point.

  "Scoring in the last minute today is important, because he's shown everyone that you have to believe until the end. Even though there were things we could do better today, we kept going, and we got something out of the game."

• Hayes' Chelsea legacy 'in great hands' under Bompastor, believes Beever-Jones

  Chelsea forward Aggie Beever-Jones believes the Blues are in "great hands" under new coach Sonia Bompastor as she looks to build on Emma Hayes' legacy.

  Hayes ended her glittering 12-year reign in West London in May, having overseen her seventh Women's Super League title success, five of which have come in the last five seasons.

  Hayes departed to take up an offer to manage the United States' national team, and she immediately led them to a record-extending fifth gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games.

  Chelsea moved swiftly to replace Hayes with former Lyon boss Bompastor, who won three league titles and the 2021-22 Champions League crown in three years with the French giants.

  The 2024-25 WSL season begins on Friday, September 20, with Bompastor's team playing host to Aston Villa in the first match of the campaign, and Beever-Jones is excited to get going.

  Speaking at the Barclays WSL's 2024-25 season launch media day, Beever-Jones told Stats Perform: "I think with Emma, the legacy she created at Chelsea speaks for itself. 

  "She transformed it into one of the best clubs in the world and I think she's obviously left it in great hands with Sonia now. 

  "It's up to Sonia and Cami to put their own flair on the Chelsea way. I think it's going to be an exciting year for sure, change is good, and we'll be losing Emma, but we've got Sonia now, and we're just so excited for the season to start." 

  Hayes also won five FA Cups and two League Cups during her time with Chelsea, but the Champions League trophy eluded her, coming closest when they were runners-up to Barcelona in 2020-21.

  Bompastor is something of a European specialist, winning the Champions League twice as a player and once as a coach, and Beever-Jones hopes her know-how can get the Blues over the line.

  "That is the aim," she said. "Chelsea haven't done it before and to have Sonia, who has won it many times, bringing that freshness and, obviously, players like Lucy Bronze giving her experience...

  "To be fighting for four competitions again, that's what we want to be doing this year. 

  "I feel Chelsea are the club that can do it and yeah hopefully this time next year I'll be sitting here with a Champions League medal.

  "I think with Sonia, her history of what she's won as a player and a coach speaks for itself. 

  "She was the first player to win it as a Champions League and then do it as a coach. It's a big hole to fill, but I think Sonia and everyone she's brought in are the right people to fill that hole. 

  "It's absolute credit to what Emma did for Chelsea and I think it was the right time for her to leave. We're delighted for her to go and win a gold medal for America, and we're obviously still in contact.

  "I'm super excited for this new era of Chelsea and to avoid that drop-off, I think we're in the right hands to do that, and I'm sure that drop-off won't happen."