Erling Haaland scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season to earn Manchester City a laboured 1-0 victory at Brentford on Sunday.
The Norwegian muscled through to finish in style in the ninth minute to continue his impressive start to the season as City extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven.
It should have been far more comfortable for Pep Guardiola's side though and they were dealt a potentially significant blow when midfielder Rodri went off injured in the first half.
Haaland netted early in the first half in west London to give City a third win in their last four Premier League games.
The peerless 25-year-old already has 12 goals in nine appearances in all competitions this season, plus six in two matches for Norway, with Tottenham the only team to stop him scoring in the current campaign.
Thanks largely to Haaland, City survived a second half dip.
City still trail leaders Arsenal by three points but they go into the international break with renewed impetus after a slow start to the season.
The only concern for Guardiola was the sight of Rodri being forced off with a first-half injury after appearing to damage his hamstring.
The Spain midfielder has struggled to finish games since coming back at the Club World Cup in the summer following anterior cruciate ligament surgery.
Brentford showed more aggression after the break though and almost stunned City with an equaliser out of nothing.
A punt forward was not dealt with by City's defence and Thiago was clean through but never really looked in complete control and his tame effort was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Michael Kayode headed a half-chance over the bar for the hosts and as the minutes ticked down Guardiola looked increasingly agitated on the touchline as Brentford's direct style caused jitters in his defence.
City's hearts were in their mouths in the 90th minute when Donnarumma's clearance was charged down by Kevin Schade and the rebound went narrowly wide of the post.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 to heap more pressure on Ange Postecoglou while Crystal Palace's club-record unbeaten run came to an end with defeat at Everton.
Bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers were denied their first win of the season when Brighton & Hove Albion scored a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Molineux.
But it was Postecoglou who found himself under fire after Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes curled a long-range strike into the top corner before earning the penalty put away by German striker Nick Woltemade.
Postecoglou has yet to win a game since taking over at Forest last month, a run of seven games in all competitions that includes five defeats - the worst start by a Forest manager in a century.
"I knew it was a big challenge walking in, there is nothing wrong with that. I don't get why people think it is a burden but I love a challenge. The alternative is sitting at home watching the game and I don't want to do that," Postecoglou told the BBC.
"We just have to get the results now and we have two weeks to get it right. If people want to assess me three-and-a-half weeks in there is nothing I can say that will change that."
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
