Ivan Toney claimed he knew he would score and Brentford would win upon his return from his eight-month exile.
The striker, banned from football since May for breaching betting rules, was back on the scoresheet for the first time in 267 days in the 3-2 Premier League home win over Nottingham Forest.
Toney struck with an audacious free-kick to thrust himself back into the spotlight for the right reasons.
“It was a long time coming,” he told Sky Sports. “I manifested this win when I was at home during the time I was out, I am here now and buzzing to be back scoring goals and winning with the team.
“I knew this would happen. I manifest things like this. Before I left my house I thought ‘we’re winning today and I’m scoring’. And I made it happen.”
Danilo volleyed Forest into a third-minute lead before Orel Mangala gave away a free-kick on the edge of the area.
Only one player was going to take it, and just as Toney had when he scored in the corresponding fixture last season – his last goal before the ban – the 27-year-old nonchalantly stroked the free-kick around the wall and inside Matt Turner’s left-hand post.
Forest captain Ryan Yates was furious with Turner for not spotting the gap that Toney found, although no one noticed the England forward subtly rolling the ball a few inches to the right as the keeper was lining up his wall.
“Yeah, I saw the gap,” Toney added. “Sometimes you have a gap either way and I bent the ball around the wall and was happy to see it go in.”
But Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo felt the goal should not have stood.
“Ball displacement, and the law is clear,” he said. “Every goal must be checked. I don’t know if they checked or not.
“The players have to be a little bit mature as well because it changes the position of the ball. It’s a yard almost. But our players didn’t realise.”
Bees head coach Thomas Frank was blissfully unaware of the incident, and the law.
“I have no clue. I didn’t know that he did it,” said Frank. “He’s a clever player, what more can I say? He took it well and it’s in the back of the net.
“Classic Ivan. He loves the big stage and he thrives there. It’s extra impressive to come back after eight months and play the way he did, scoring a clever goal. Super impressive.”
Brentford went ahead in the 58th minute when Ben Mee got in front of his marker and headed home Mathias Jensen’s corner.
Seven minutes later Chris Wood glanced in a cross from Callum Hudson-Odoi for his fifth goal in four league matches under new boss Nuno.
But Toney was involved again when Brentford snatched the victory in the 70th minute, switching the play out to the right from where Jensen crossed for Neal Maupay to lash into the net and lift the Bees above their opponents and into 14th place.
Nuno added: “It was a good performance. I think we played well, we had good momentum, fighting spirit and togetherness. The result is frustrating but the performance was good.”
Haaland has 'full trust' in Guardiola to halt Man City slump
Erling Haaland has "full trust" in the "best manager in the world", Pep Guardiola, to get Manchester City back on track against Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Guardiola's side have lost four matches in a row across all competitions, which is the Spaniard's longest losing run in his entire managerial career.
The Citizens last lost more consecutively between March and April 2006 under Stuart Pearce (six – the fifth game of which was also against Tottenham).
But after putting pen to paper on a new two-year contract extension at the club earlier this week, Guardiola has his eyes firmly set on returning to winning ways on home soil.
And Haaland, who has scored 105 goals in 114 appearances under Guardiola at City, believes they can make up the gap to leaders Liverpool, who are five points ahead.
"When you look at what he's been doing for the club, he's not bad, is he? So he's got my full trust," Haaland told Sky Sports.
"And if he tells me something, I'd better do it because he knows the best in the end. Everyone knows that. So I'm sure he will find solutions now as well. I'm sure of that.
"[Guardiola] demands us to be at our best in every training session, in every game. And that's what we need to do. It hasn't been good enough, losing four games now, but let's try to win the next."
Arsenal handed another injury blow as White ruled out for 'months'
Mikel Arteta confirmed that Arsenal defender Ben White is facing "months" on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury.
White had been dealing with several issues all season and has missed five games in all competitions for the Gunners already this term.
After struggling through until the November international break, the decision was taken for him to undergo surgery in order to finally address the ongoing problems.
It serves as a bitter blow for Arteta, with only Thomas Parety (13) making more interceptions than White (11) for Arsenal in the Premier League this campaign.
Though Arteta confirmed that the surgery was successful, White is set for a lengthy spell out of the team.
"It has been different kinds of struggles. It has never been the same thing, but we had to make a decision. He has not improved over the last few weeks, unfortunately," said Arteta.
"We know that Ben is going to push every boundary, but it got to the point where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery.
"He agreed with that and it is going to keep him out for a few months."
Asked for a specific time frame, Arteta added: "We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect it to be half a year, but I cannot tell you exactly."
It offers a concern for Arteta in the full-back area, with the Spaniard also revealing on Friday that Takehiro Tomiyasu is "going to be out as well for a bit".
There was, however, some positive injury news for the Gunners ahead of welcoming Nottingham Forest to the Emirates on Saturday.
After not featuring for England during the international break, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are expected to be fit to feature against Nuno Espirito Santo's side.
Leandro Trossard will also be available for Arteta despite picking up a hamstring injury during the international break with Belgium.
Defender Riccardo Calafiori is also in contention for Saturday's game after a month out with a knee problem.
Conte hopes for Ranieri's success at Roma after Napoli clash
Antonio Conte hopes that everything will go well for Claudio Ranieri after he came out of retirement to take charge of Roma, but only after their Serie A clash this weekend.
Ranieri was tempted back into management by a return to where he began as a player. His third spell at Roma comes after the club sacked two coaches already this season and with the team 12th in the standings.
A trip to leaders Napoli is Ranieri's first task, and Conte is looking forward to meeting up with the 73-year-old.
"I am pleased to see Claudio, I have great esteem for him and there is also friendship," Conte told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"I am happy with the chance he has been given. It will be a tough game, for us and for them. Last year, Roma finished ahead of Napoli, they are in the Europa League and had a good transfer window.
"They are not performing according to expectations and I hope for Claudio that everything starts to work after Sunday's game."
The arrival of Ranieri in place of Ivan Juric brings with it not just the danger of the 'new manager bounce' but also upsets Conte's plans for the game.
"When a team changes coach there is an important input on a nervous level," Conte said.
"They are at the third change on the bench. It's inevitable that, if Juric had remained, we knew what kind of team we were going to face.
"Now it's an enigma, we don't have much information nor do we know how they will deal with us. So let's think about ourselves, there is a desire and enthusiasm to continue this path."
After a streak of 21 consecutive home wins in Serie A, Conte lost his last home league match (0-3 against Atalanta). Only once in his career has he recorded two consecutive home defeats in the competition: in November 2009, when he was in charge of Atalanta (against Juventus and Roma).
Napoli are top of the table, but Conte knows it is still early, and with just two points separating the top six clubs, which includes the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, for now, it is a different title race than usual.
"Only 12 games have passed and there are many teams within very few points," he said.
"We are doing well, but so are the others. There isn't one team which has distanced the others. Perhaps there is a little amazement in seeing some teams in those positions in the standings."
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