Sports Desk, Feb 21 (EFE).- Erling Haaland scored a late winner as Manchester City beat Brentford 1-0 in the English Premier League to go above Arsenal in the points table on Tuesday.

Haaland broke free after Julian Alvarez passed a through pass from their own half to atone for his series of misses in the previous match against Chelsea, when he had 10 shots on target but no goal.

His 22nd goal of the season means the Norwegian has now scored against every Premier League side he faced.

Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp and Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta were licking their lips for more than 70 minutes, thinking of a draw that would give them an edge in one of the closest title races in Premier League history.

But Haaland’s goal surely disappointed them, as City now rose to second place with 56 points, just one behind Liverpool and one ahead of third-placed Arsenal, all having played 25 matches.

City played the way they normally do, pressing hard, but Brentford were stubborn enough to keep them at bay for the better part of the game and also occasionally created some chances for themselves that they could not take.

City coach Pep Guardiola heaped praise on match-winner Haaland, who not only had to respond to his failure in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea last week but also overcome a personal loss as his grandmother died last week.

“When I was young, I was told about top strikers, don’t criticise them because he will shut your mouth, that’s for sure,” Guardiola said.

“He was out for two months [injured]. He had an incredibly tough week last week, he lost his grandmother, and it’s not easy for a human being.

“But he scored when he’s not in his best shape at the moment,” he added.

“We spoke about the moment but he didn’t say anything about the passing of his grandmother.”

Liverpool will get a chance to extend their slight advantage over City and Arsenal when they face Luton Town at Anfield on Wednesday. EFE

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