*Haaland Sweeps Brentford Aside To Give Man City Momentum
Sevilla thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Sunday, 5 October, ending the champions’ unbeaten start in La Liga and denying them an opportunity to return to the top of the table.
Hansi Flick, Barcelona’s manager, said: “Today, I have to accept this defeat, and I’m looking positive, in a way. We also see the negative points in our game, which we have to change. The first half wasn’t good … we had no solutions to play out, it was really not good.
“But in the second half, the reaction, I appreciate a lot. What we did, how we played, it was really good to see.
“With this defeat, this emotion … it’s important that we keep it, and when we start again after the break, we will fight. We will fight for every title.”
Sevilla took the lead in the 13th minute, after Isaac Romero went down while jostling for the ball with Ronald Araújo near Barcelona’s six-yard box. Alexis Sánchez sent former Arsenal teammate goalie Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way to convert the spot kick.
Romero doubled Sevilla’s lead in the 37th minute, but Marcus Rashford scored from Pedri’s lobbed pass to make it 2-1 just before half-time.
Barcelona had a chance to equalise when Adnan Januzaj brought down Alejandro Balde, but Robert Lewandowski fired wide from the spot in the 76th minute before José Ángel Carmona and Akor Adams scored two late goals, as the visitors remained two points behind the leaders, Real Madrid.
“It’s one of the happiest days of my life. We deserved to win from start to finish,” said Carmona, who scored Sevilla’s third goal.
The Barcelona midfielder Pedri said: “We lacked intensity, we couldn’t get the ball out of our half, we didn’t know what to do with the ball … we were never at our best. We need to improve a lot of things so that we can start winning games again after the break.”
Haaland Powers Brentford Aside As Manchester City Gain Momentum
In English Premiership, a 250th Premier League win for Pep Guardiola, achieved at record speed, and, in a season where no contender is perfect, a seventh title trophy cannot be ruled out.
The Manchester City of autumn 2025 are a work in progress, low on previous star quality but still full of possibilities.
The presence of Erling Haaland, in devastating form, is a cast-iron guarantee they will be sticking around for a while yet.
In the ninth minute Haaland scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season, notching for the ninth game in succession. Played in by Josko Gvardiol, Haaland’s unmatchable power and speed completed the job, bustling through Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins to clatter past Caoimhín Kelleher.
At 25, as a young father, handed a leadership role by his manager, Haaland is thriving under added responsibility.
“I have never felt better than I do now,” he said. “It is about preparation, getting ready for the games. You can be physically ready but you need to be mentally ready. With a kid it makes me even better because I disconnect more than ever – I don’t think about football at all.”
City fans singing for Kevin De Bruyne reminded Haaland is no longer supported by proven winners, much of the star system that once surrounded him now passed into club legend.
The new City are full of promise, but where their Premier League peers have bought finished products, to currently mixed results, the Etihad project turns towards potential.
Three points ground out at Brentford saw first-half dominance followed by a far more tentative second half. Brentford fought back determinedly but suffered for a lack of quality when opportunities arose.
Keith Andrews was denied in his quest to beat Manchester United and Manchester City in consecutive games, the last manager to do so being Tottenham’s Gerry Francis in 1996.
In City’s 2022-23 treble-winning season, only Thomas Frank’s Brentford’s did a league double over them.
Matching those historic feats proved beyond reach with Haaland around. “I am not sure how many centre-forwards in world football score that goal,” Andrews said.
The Irishman’s technical area vigil was anguished, the key moments never quite coming off, despite endeavours that made life uncomfortable for City until the closing moments.
By the conclusion, Guardiola was a more frantic presence on the touchline. This City team do not yet kill off opponents as was habitual in the imperial phase of the recent past. The skill level remains elite but prey is not battered into submission.
“Many things I like,” Guardiola said. “I know there are things we can do better but they made a fantastic first half, one of the best in many months.”
Collins, Brentford’s captain, said: “They were getting too close to our box, in and around it. In the second half we were a bit more aggressive on the press, got higher up, pressed them higher.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Alexis Sanchez (m) helped thrash his former club, Barcelona.
Results From Across Major Domestic Leagues In Europe, Sunday, 5 October
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa – Burnley 2:1
Everton – Crystal Palace 2:1
Newcastle – Nottingham 2:0
Wolves – Brighton 1:1
Brentford – Manchester City 0:1
FRANCE: Ligue 1
Lyon – Toulouse 1:2
Le Havre – Rennes 2:2
Monaco – Nice 2:2
Strasbourg – Angers 5:0
Lille – PSG 1:1
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Stuttgart – Heidenheim 1:0
Hamburger SV – Mainz 4:0
B. Monchengladbach – Freiburg 0:0
ITALY: Serie A
Udinese – Cagliari 1:1
Bologna – Pisa 4:0
Fiorentina – AS Roma 1:2
Napoli – Genoa 2:1
Juventus – AC Milan 0:0
NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie
Twente – Heracles 2:1
Feyenoord – Utrecht 3:2
AZ Alkmaar – Telstar 2:1
G.A. Eagles – Nijmegen 1:1
SPAIN: LaLiga
Alaves – Elche 3:1
Espanyol – Betis 1:2
Real Sociedad – Rayo Vallecano 0:1
Celta Vigo – Atl. Madrid 1:1
