Manchester City have been handed a tough challenge by Brentford on their return to Premier League action but Erling Haaland has turned things around, with help from Ederson.
Pep Guardiola made several changes to his starting XI ,with one eye on tough tests against Inter in the Champions League and Arsenal to come, and it led to a plodding start.
A defensive calamity with five players making mistakes in the opening moments saw Yoane Wissa nod in the opener after just 22 seconds.
The Bees didn’t stop there and piled the pressure on a rattled Manchester City, with only Ederson’s quick-thinking off his line and a defensive interception from Rico Lewis keeping the score down.
However, City eventually grew into the game and levelled through the inevitable Erling Haaland, who found the bottom corner despite receiving the ball with his back to goal.
The Norwegian sensation then made it nine goals in just four games when he barged past Ethan Pinnock to go clean through and chip the ball into the goal.
It was Ederson who grabbed the assist for the second goal, with the Brazilian sending a long ball over the top after spotting Haaland had a one-on-one opportunity with Pinnock.
That’s now four Premier League assists for Ederson in a City shirt, a remarkable number for a goalkeeper and one that has seen him overtake Manchester United’s Antony.
Ederson overtakes Man Utd’s Antony in assist charts
With his set-up for Haaland’s strike, Ederson now has more assists in the Premier League than Antony.
The winger, who Manchester United signed from Ajax for £82m in 2022, might have played in five few campaigns than Ederson but he is still an attacking player who isn’t consigned to the opposite end of the pitch.
Antony got two assists in his first Premier League season against Nottingham Forest and Wolves, with his only one last term coming in a defeat to Chelsea.
The forward has struggled for form since his opening three games at Old Trafford and his struggles couldn’t be illustrated clearer than being taken over in the assist charts by a shot-stopper.
Ederson’s assists for Manchester City
Ederson’s set-up against Brentford is actually his fifth assist in total for City, as he has also teed one up in the Champions League. Here are all of his assists for the club.
- Goal kick to Sergio Aguero vs Huddersfield Town – August 19, 2018
- Pass to Raheem Sterling vs Schalke – February 20, 2019
- Pass to Ilkay Gundogan vs Tottenham – February 2, 2021
- Pass to Erling Haaland vs Brighton – October 22, 2022
- Pass to Erling Haaland vs Brentford – September 14, 2024
