Manchester City throw away 2-0 lead as Nørgaard strikes late for Brentford
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When Brentford missed their first couple of chances, Thomas Frank applauded his approval and encouragement. But they kept missing them: by the end of the first half his head was in his hands; by the time Yoane Wissa somehow shot into Nathan Aké with the goal at his mercy and 20 minutes remaining he was prostrate, forehead pressed into the turf in supplication. Maybe someone was listening.
![[Phil Foden scores at the Gtech Community Stadium]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f13b12e4d515b5e1d377041f51f718ef4d00ce3b/0_9_4102_2460/master/4102.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Phil Foden had opened the scoring moments earlier, and shortly afterwards he tapped in the rebound after Savinho’s shot was saved to apparently make the game safe. Instead the pendulum swung: Mads Roerslev’s volleyed centre found Wissa all alone on the edge of the six-yard box to pull a goal back, and in stoppage time Christian Nørgaard headed in from Keane Lewis-Potter’s cross. In the end it took Aké’s goalline clearance from Bryan Mbeumo’s shot to ensure City ended this wildly entertaining encounter with a point.
A month ago Brentford were unbeaten here in all competitions and nursing the second-best home record in the division, but since then their aura of invincibility had been lost along with successive league games against Nottingham Forest and Arsenal, as well as an FA Cup tie against the Championship strugglers Plymouth.
City know all about misplaced auras given their travails this season, though Frank used his programme notes to remind readers that they “remain one of the best teams in the world despite not being at their usual level recently, full of quality and intensity”.
