![Omar Marmoush of Manchester City celebrates scoring his team’s third goal [Naomi Baker/Getty Images]](https://swazi24.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/GettyImages-2275338985-1778352359-332x186.webp)
![Omar Marmoush of Manchester City celebrates scoring his team’s third goal [Naomi Baker/Getty Images]](https://swazi24.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/GettyImages-2275338985-1778352359.webp)
Manchester City kept their Premier League title hopes alive with a 3-0 win over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, closing to within two points of leaders Arsenal with three games remaining.
Goals from Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush sealed the points after a frustrating goalless first half that drew boos from the home crowd.
City, who had dropped points in a 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday, needed a win to stay in contention, and despite dominating possession and registering 15 attempts in the first half alone, they could not find a way through a resolute Brentford defence before the break. 
![Jeremy Doku of Manchester City scores his team’s first goal [Naomi Baker/Getty Images]](https://swazi24.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/GettyImages-2275334791-1778349663.webp)
The deadlock was broken in the 60th minute when Doku, who had been a constant menace on the left wing throughout the match, cut inside the box and curled a stunning effort into the top corner.
Haaland doubled the lead in the 75th minute with a typically determined finish. The Norwegian got on the end of a cross from Semenyo, saw his first effort blocked, and then produced an acrobatic backheel on the follow-up that somehow found its way past the goalkeeper. It was his 26th league goal of the season, putting him four clear of his nearest rival, Brentford’s Thiago, in the scoring charts.
Substitute Marmoush wrapped up the victory in stoppage time, slamming a weighted pass from Haaland into the bottom left corner to secure the clean sheet and improve City’s goal difference to within one of Arsenal’s.
Speaking after the match, Haaland said the performance was a collective effort against a difficult opponent.
“It feels good to win 3-0,” he told Sky Sports. “We just missed the last shot on goal today. We created a lot of chances and didn’t get the last shot on a lot of crosses. Brentford defended well. They are a good team. There are no easy games in the Premier League. So we are happy.”
On City’s title ambitions, the striker was direct: “If you play for Manchester City, you think of titles every single day.”
Haaland also reflected on his personal form, saying: “It’s been an up-and-down season. I am trying to do my job, and 26 goals is more than last year. So it’s OK.”
Doku, who was named man of the match before being replaced by Savinho in the 90th minute, spoke about his instinctive style of play.
“Yeah, it looks a bit like the one against Everton, we wanted to take the corner short, I was looking for my man, ball comes back, and then I’m inside the box, have space to shoot, do it without thinking and happy it went in,” he said.
“I’ve always been an instinct player. Obviously, today, it’s working out; I’ve scored some goals, but if you look at the game, I always play like this. Now the goals are coming, people are going to say, ‘wow’, but I haven’t been a different player.”
The Belgian winger also revealed he plans to watch Arsenal’s match on Sunday. “If I have time, I’ll watch Arsenal tomorrow. I’m a football fan, I like football. I will probably watch,” he said.
Arsenal face relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday, knowing that winning all three of their remaining matches, against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace, will be enough to clinch the title for the first time in 22 years regardless of City’s results.
Brentford manager Andrews refused to be disheartened by the result. “We’re playing against a team that’s fighting for the title. You can see that in their urgency. I liked a lot of what we did today. We showed a lot of bravery, a lot of courage. It needed to be a near-perfect performance to win tonight,” he said.
“I don’t think the scoreline should fool anyone into thinking it was an absolute rout. The way we approached it, the margins of what we had, the margins of the decisions that were made are quite telling overall.”
Brentford captain Collins echoed that sentiment. “We wanted to come here, play without fear, we knew we’d have to defend low but still be a threat and hurt them. We did that in spells and then some decisions in the second half, the momentum changed, and they got their goals,” he said. “They grew from that, got better. When you come to a place like this, they’re ruthless.”
City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kept a clean sheet despite a nervous moment early on when he spilled a long throw-in, with Nunes clearing the danger. City next host Crystal Palace on Wednesday before the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 16.
