I saw Pep Guardiola's reaction that showed Man City got sucked into Brentford trap

It might not have looked that way with eight minutes to go, but a game as open and entertaining as this one was always likely to suit Brentford more than it was Manchester City.

It became a game dominated by transitions. Neither side could exert control or dominate territory, so it became open. When one side lost the ball the other pounced, and vice versa.

The stats bear it out. Brentford finished with 18 shots to City's 21. Both teams racked up an xG of more than two, although Brentford edged that figure. They probably deserved something out of the game.

This kind of game would have been what Brentford wanted. City seemed unable to find a different way to play, so just accepted it and went hell for leather with the Bees.

To the naked eye, this was City's slickest attacking display of recent weeks, even if they had just scored 12 goals in two games. But there's a reason that Pep Guardiola doesn't want his team to play like this. He wants control and knows his team isn't built to run forward and run back.

They looked to have got the better of it at 2-0 up after 81 minutes. They had countered with class at times and Phil Foden had rediscovered his scoring touch, taking both goals well to prise the game open and seemingly keep City on track. But just as the momentum was building, the rug was pulled from under them.

Brentford kept coming and scored from two crosses. Neither was defended particularly well. In truth, Thomas Frank's energetic side had posed City problems throughout the contest. The surprise was it took them so long to score.

When an open game broke out approaching the midway point of the first half, City leaned into it. Their best chances came from turnovers rather than prolonged spells of possession and