Beesotted contributor Jacob ‘The Gowler’ Gowler (@BeesBreakdown) gives us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s draw against Manchester City.
Thomas Frank with a minor tweak to his starting XI for the midweek match against Manchester City. The Bees came out in a 4-3-3, with Roerslev, Collins, van den Berg, and Lewis-Potter along the backline. The midfield trio consisted of Jensen, Norgaard and Janelt, while Damsgaard pushed up the left wing. Damsgaard joined Mbeumo and Wissa on the front line, with Schade waiting on the bench after starting in the previous FA cup match.
Pep Guardiola deployed a 4-2-3-1 to face Brentford. The backline consisted of Gvardiol, Ake, Akanji, and Matheus Nunes. Pep deployed Silva and Kovacic in midfield, with Rodri out for the season. Manchester City’s front line consisted of Savinho and Foden on the wings, while Haaland deployed centrally as the target man, with De Bruyne in the 10 role. Plenty of attacking options on the bench with Grealish and Doku hoping to make an impact.
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Brentford ended with 45% possession and 2.58 xG to Manchester City’s 2.20 xG. Although Manchester City held more possession, Brentford had a lower PPDA, indicating City sat back when out-of-possession. Their initial press rendered ineffective with Brentford finding pockets of space to progress the ball.
Brentford threatened after quickly progressing the ball but couldn’t find the back of the net in these situations. Out-of-possession, Brentford’s high press is always a risk, but for the most part, City also failed to take advantage when building from out of the back.
Manchester City opted to bypass the press completely by sending in direct balls over the top, and although this led to both of their goals, Thomas Frank is always happy for teams to settle for these lower percentage tactics.
After scoring two goals, Manchester City chose to sit back, but Brentford still dismantled their low block. City ended with 32 clearances, the most they’ve had since 2019, but still they failed to clear the danger multiple times. Brentford constantly recovered possession in the final third, and the Bees’ counterpress swarmed any attempts to play it short.