Haaland Fires City to Victory as Guardiola Reaches Historic Milestone

The match at the Gtech Community Stadium was decided in the ninth minute when Erling Haaland received a looping pass from Josko Gvardiol, powered between two Brentford defenders, and finished precisely past goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher. This was Haaland's ninth Premier League goal of the season and his 18th in just 11 appearances for club and country, confirming his extraordinary earlyseason form.

For City manager Pep Guardiola, the result was a landmark achievement, making him the fastest manager in the competition's history to reach 250 wins, a feat he accomplished in just 349 games  55 matches faster than the previous record held by Sir Alex Ferguson. Following the match, Guardiola expressed his honor at joining such an elite group, quipping, "It is an honour for me to be alongside Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. I will invite them to a good dinner".

The win, which was Guardiola's 250th in the Premier League, lifts Manchester City to fifth in the table with 13 points, now just three points behind leaders Arsenal. The victory, however, was marred by a firsthalf injury to midfielder Rodri, who was forced off with an apparent hamstring issue.

ShakeUp at the Top

Matchday 7 brought a significant shift at the summit of the Premier League. Arsenal reclaimed the top spot with 16 points after a 20 victory over West Ham United. Meanwhile, Liverpool suffered their second consecutive league defeat, falling 21 to Chelsea and dropping to second place with 15 points.

Elsewhere in the League

The weekend's action saw other notable results:

Tottenham and Bournemouth continued their strong starts, both securing victories to sit third and fourth respectively.

Crystal Palace's 19game unbeaten run across all competitions was ended by a 21 defeat to Everton.

Newcastle United earned a 20 win over Nottingham Forest, whose manager Ange Postecoglou is now the first Forest boss in over a century to fail to win in his first seven games.

As the league heads into an international break, the title race has tightened considerably, with Manchester City's latest win serving a clear reminder of their enduring threat.