Man City close gap on Arsenal after 3-0 win over Brentford

0:07Welcome to the Sky Sports Premier League podcast. Manchester City were looking to keep up their title challenge on Saturday Night Football against Brentford. This is how we saw things at full time.

0:25Manchester City send out the message that if Arsenal falter, they will be waiting for them. An emphatic win in the end here that takes them two points behind the leaders with three games left to play for each. and for Arsenal the first of those engagements comes tomorrow at the London Stadium against a West Ham team fighting for their lives. Jeremy Doku it was who pointed City in the right direction today with his fourth wonderful goal in the space of three matches. Erling Haaland with a neat backheel from a Semenyo cross scored the second and made the third in injury time for the substitute Omar Mahmouche to put a clean polish on a victory.

1:19That means that Arsenal are going to have to sweat to hold on to the lead if they are to win their first title in 22 years. Manchester City have been on this course before. It was misery in Merseyside on Monday for them. But they've bruised Brentford's European ambitions here with a victory that takes them right back onto Arsenal's shoulders. Manchester City 3, Brentford 0. Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge here in the studio. Daniel, a big win for Manchester City, not just in terms of getting the three points and closing the gap at the top of the table, but we're all keeping an eye on goal difference at the moment as well.

2:06What a result for them. You can see the joy on their faces. Relief also, because that first-half performance wasn't great, but they've came out in the second half, been decisive, they've created chances, they've scored goals, and you can see that they know scoring those three goals, getting that clean sheet for them, puts them in a nice position psychologically as well. All in all, the manager can be very proud. The players can be very proud of their performance today But they're obviously going to need a favour from Arsenal to go all the way in here And you can tell from looking at them, Micah, that they do not think this is over Disappointment for Brentford, who are pushing for Europe for the first time in their history But these City players look like they think it's on They know it's on because that's what they do That's what champions do, they fight all the way to the end And that is a difference and that's why you can never write off Manchester City Harlan in the first half was quiet in the second half he was very good in terms of his movement and then he assists for the Mamouche at the end but you can always tell look at Pep's face when Pep knows it's on he has a little smirk on it that Mandoku has been brilliant really good against and turned up again today who was saying at half time getting the ball early to get the goal from the set piece and yeah you just start to believe now because in that first half there There was a bit groaning going on.

3:20The performance wasn't great. But then second half, they do what City do and apply that pressure. Tomorrow's game is going to be so interesting now. I can't wait. It is huge and it is arguably the toughest of Arsenal's remaining fixtures against West Ham at West Ham on Super Sunday. And you'll be able to watch that live on Sky Sports, of course. At this stage of the season, Daniel, having played a long season, having got to the finals of both domestic cup competitions, won one of them already, having gone deep into the Champions League. Now we're into the final throws of this Premier League season.

3:54How much is it taking out of these City players playing weekend, midweek, weekend, midweek for another couple of weeks? It's taking absolutely everything out of them. That is what you pay to do as a top professional, top footballer, world-class players. You've got to recover well. You've got to take your details on. You've got to know that, look, you've got to give absolutely everything now. There's not many games to go. We've been through the ringer all season. long but it's important to recover get your sleep in every small detail matters now for these players because when you've got pressure situations psychologically that weighs on you but then physically as well it does exactly the same so it's important for them to switch off when they can not think about football at times because the pressures of watching other games and results going your way and all of that it weighs on you but i think look you see the delight on the faces of the players, sighs of relief as well.

4:44You know, it's going to be a big game tomorrow. And on the face of Erling Haaland, who we saw earlier, who moves on to 26 Premier League goals for the season, moves further ahead in the race for the Golden Boot. Only seven of them have come since the turn of the year, though. But those Brentford players will know about the scorelines that happened earlier on today that affect them and their push for Europe. Because Bournemouth were 1-0 winners against Fulham, both teams down to 10 men in that game. And Brighton got a 3-0 victory against Wolves. It was goalless between Sunderland and Man United.

5:14Liverpool drew one all with Chelsea. That was significant, of course, in terms of Champions League qualification. And you can see all the goals on the Sky Sports app, which you can get to by scanning the QR code that you can see on your screen right now.

5:32So at the end of Saturday's action, let's just run you through where we are in terms of European qualification. It's likely to go down to eighth. Chelsea would either have to win the FA Cup and finish in the top six or Manchester City win the FA Cup. Then Europe goes down to eighth. Seventh is guaranteed sixth place if Aston Villa finish in fifth and win the Europa League. Six will be a Champions League spot. Five is guaranteed Champions League. Anything above that, those teams will be playing in the Champions League next season. And then as far as the title is concerned, Manchester City, one goal behind Arsenal in terms of goal difference and crucially two points behind them in the race for the Premier League title.

6:24It's time for the EFL playoffs where one moment can change an entire season. Join me, Simeon Golem, on the Essential EFL podcast for all the stories and the drama across the Championship League One and League Two. I'll be joined by Sky Sports' top EFL partners to analyse all of the games and bring you immediate reaction to the Wembley Finals That's the essential EFL podcast from Sky Sports Listen wherever you get your podcasts

6:54This is the Sky Sports Premier League podcast Let's get more analysis of the game and return to the student

7:05It's an important win for Manchester City in the title race. It takes them to within two points of Arsenal at the top of the table. It boosts their goal difference as well, crucially, because it may well come down to that. And they've had players coming to the fore in recent weeks at times when, as you were saying earlier, legs are getting tired, heads are getting tired and we're right down at the crunch stage of the season. None more so than Jeremy Doku, who's given them the goal to give the advantage and has been so important for them at this crunch stage of the season, Daniel. He's been exceptional.

7:38The goal that he scored tonight was a thing of beauty. You know, in this area here, he wants to go 1v1. Of course, we know he's got the ability to go past him. But look, he still is to get the ball back. He uses the defender as a guide and he picks out that far corner. And that is the beauty and brilliance of it. when you don't have to think too much about the action or about anything, is about how can I get my shot off. His reaction first, boom. And he guides it round the centre half there, number 22. For me, it's a brilliant finish. And, yeah, he perfected it now, man. That's two weeks in a row.

8:11For me, I just think Collins is in his position there. He wants to engage to go there, but he knows there's a player to the side of him. So he's sort of stuck in two minds there. and you're thinking it should be going there but then you've got to compliment the finish because it was that good and this guy is in such good form but I mean his goal against Everton again from a set piece and you need someone to step up when you're not playing that well we talked about composure in the final bit of his game yes we know he can dribble we talk about end product and that's what we see now what is that eight goals he scored this season and that technique is just brilliant, absolutely delightful.

8:53For me, that's a go-to finish for him now. That's two games in a row where you're doing the same thing. The repetitions in training pay off. You see you do it one week. You get the feeling in your memory. Like, when you kick the ball, you're in that area. You see that picture that you once saw. You're like, OK, you know what? I know where I want to put this. You don't have to think about it. And it's the exact same finish, you know, nearly. So it shows his game's progressing. He's becoming more decisive in those moments, and I think that's exactly what he wants to do. Two really similar goals in back-to-back games, scored in three consecutive goals for the first time at Manchester City.

9:25It's been a really big part of the season for Jeremy Doku and for City. If you are watching on Sky Sports main event, they are at the crunch stage of the Scottish Premiership season. The leaders' hearts are at Motherwell, one of the form teams in the league, with an opportunity for hearts to go six points clear of Celtic. There's an old firm game tomorrow, then they've got mid-week games, then it's Celtic against hearts on the final day of the season next weekend. This one is huge. It's up next on Sky Sports' main event. Here on Sky Sports' Premier League, though, we're going to continue to reflect on Manchester City's 3-0 win against Brentford, and we will be joined by Jeremy Doku.

10:08Micah, how important are players like Doku at this stage of the season? Pep Guardiola loves to have a player come through towards the end of the season and go on a complete purple patch. And sometimes it's somebody unexpected. Jeremy Doki, maybe less so. Yeah, I think the way Pep likes to play, we all know, is all about control. But I think maybe in the last six weeks, Shirky's really stepped up, Doki's stepped up, Semenyo does well down the right-hand side. So in terms of those Mavericks, they're coming to play at the right time, because in that first half, Man City didn't play well. You know, they were frustrated, but they can now rely on his individual brilliance.

10:46and when you talk about wingers all the time and when I'm up against these sort of wingers you're always thinking, okay, show him one way because I don't think he's really good at one particular thing but what now Doku's doing is able to go both ways and then produce a moment of magic and when you're in these positions here decision making is so key and it's not by any mistake that he scored eight goals a season because he's improving in those areas. And that's what we've always wanted from Doku. Yes, he's a young lad, but have you got the composure? Have you got the finishing touch? And now, you know, at the business end of the season, he's delivering.

11:25And as you said, eight goals so far this season, but five of them have come in his last six games. And that ability to produce when the pressure is on and when the time is right has been crucial. Confidence is key for attackers. You know, it's the most important thing, in fact, because if you're doubting yourself, you're doubting your abilities at any moment in time, you're not going to make the difference. I think for me now, he's slowly becoming, almost knowing I can do this. I can be a goal scorer. I think there may have been doubt before in terms of, okay, I've got to take my man on and supply.

12:00But there comes a moment where you have to say, okay, am I going to be a goal scorer? Do I want to become a goal scorer consistently? If I want to do that, I have to shoot more. I have to put myself in areas where I know I have the capability of hitting the target because at the end of the day, your job is to hit the target, make the keeper do his job. That's what you're told as a kid. A couple of assists in there as well for him. Just tell me a little bit about your experience of that, providing goals from a position of a goal scorer. Yeah, I think psychologically it's very different because if you're becoming the supplier, you're serving, you're serving your teammate, you're hoping that you can give him what he needs.

12:34So for me, I would have played with the Didiers, I'd have played with the Nikos, the Fernando Torres, these types of guys. and it would be even Suarez when I was playing wide. And it's a case of going, Lubi, where do you want it? Or did he, where do you want it? He'd be like, Danny, I need this. I need that. And I think for Doku, it's important for him and Haaland to build a telepathy of knowing I'm going to be putting the ball here for the midfielders, the number 10s. Where are you going to, where's the ball going to end up? I think for me, you can bank on him beating his man. Now it's about them understanding the areas where he's going to be feeding the ball.

13:04It always seems to be the cutback. He rarely smashes it across the face to the goal, which was my personal favourite, on my weaker foot, my weaker right foot. And I think for him, his personal favourite is the cutback on his weaker left foot. So it's important for his teammates to understand if he's going down the line, he's cutting it back. If he cuts inside, he's going to be curling it towards the back poles. It simplifies it for his teammates, it simplifies it for him. And when he cuts inside, you know he can take that. We've seen the two goals he scored, so you know he can do that. It's really interesting because what we're talking about as telepathy, the way that you're describing it is just communication and hard work on the training ground and repetition.

13:42It's key. And it's the conversations you have to have with your teammates to understand what they need. Similarly, with a defender, it's knowing. Winger, this is what I need from you. You get that chemistry and you build that feeling between each other, Meeks. Yeah, but because you played on the right, didn't you, at times? Yes. Especially in the early days against Chelsea. You're left-footed, so you're going down this side. So, Doku on the other side, obviously his right footed, cutting in. How hard is it to get that chemistry with Haaland, though, because he's not on his strong foot? Yeah. I think if you see me, I'm slowly going with the ball like this.

14:21The minute I go inside like this, you have to be ready for the cross that's going to be floated slightly. I'm aiming for the far post. If I cut inside as the winger on my stronger foot, But I'm aiming for the far post, almost like a shot. But it's easier for you to jump up and get a glancing header towards the far post. All you need is a little touch on the top of your head. I've got the high top. You know, you've got the high top now. So it's important to get that little touch. And it's an easier cross. When you're going down the line, you're in less control because you're on your weaker foot.

14:51So for him, the easier cross is to do the cutback. So, yes. Listen, we'll get more insight on that because Jeremy Doku joins us now. Thank you so much, Jeremy, for joining us. First of all, congratulations on the victory. They're all good, but how important was this one? Very important. We know that we needed to win after the draw that we did. And we did it. At the start, it was a bit difficult because we created some chances, but we didn't score. We know how difficult it is against a team like this, especially dangerous on set pieces. So we were happy afterwards when we scored and afterwards there was more space and we scored three goals and didn't concede.

15:33So it's a good victory. We're happy with it. Yeah, for a long time it did look like a frustrating afternoon. Just tell me a little bit about how it feels being at this stage of the season, having already won one trophy in another domestic cup final, having gone deep into the Champions League. You're now only three games away from the end of the Premier League season. It's been a long, successful season already. Tell me a bit about finding the reserves for that final push. You're right, it's a long season actually. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel tired. No, no, no, but at the end of the day, we don't need...

16:09When you arrive at this point, this is all you sacrifice for. You sacrifice everything during the season to arrive at this point. And then you always find some energy to push through, especially these types of games where everyone wants to be. We won already one trophy, win a final, win a title race. was a better position. So we're happy and trust me, we'll find energy to continue to push for the next games. Jeremy, what about your form? You're in the form of your life out here. Goals, assists, everything. Last time we saw you when we interviewed you, you said you're going to shoot more and now we're seeing the rewards.

16:45Exactly. I feel like, obviously in terms of play, I always have been like this. But I always said, like, I know what my points are where I need to become better is to score goals. assists I did but more goals being in those positions and I remember last time when we spoke I don't know against Southampton after Southampton that I said sometimes I need to be more selfish and try to look for the shot and I've been doing that obviously you can shoot but you need to score as well afterwards so I'm just grateful that those shots went in so yeah I'm happy I'm happy especially with the victory and with the performances after well.

17:24Jeremy man you got to taught me through this goal, brother. It was a beautiful finish. You did the similar thing against Everton, right? Do you remember that feeling and the position of what you was in and then it came to you again in a similar, closer area tonight and you've done exactly the same finish? Talk to me about the repetitions of it and then also talk to me about how you executed this goal. To start with, so it's a short corner. I wanted to first dribble my play and then pass it in behind, I think, for Bernie or Phil, I don't know very much. But then the ball comes back in my feet. Then I felt like, OK, I have space inside.

17:59No one is coming at me. And I prefer to shoot in the far corner than in the other side. So I looked at the goal quickly. And then, I don't know, it was just instinct. Then I felt like the technique is there to just hit the far corner with the right strength. And, you know, sometimes it's difficult to explain because at the moment it feels so natural. And now when I look at it, I'm like, if I have to do it again now, I don't know where the ball ends, you know. So it's difficult to explain. But at the moment itself, it's natural. And it looked completely natural. There was also a really lovely moment, Jeremy, with the celebration where you had a message for the camera, which we're just going to hear.

18:48Yes. So birthday celebrations? It's his birthday. It's his birthday. It's his birthday. And for me, it's... I'm becoming a dad soon by the grace of God. And he sacrificed his life for me every time, bringing me to the club, every time bringing me, not knowing that I would become where I am now. So for me, that's a big thing. And him turning 60 and me having my parents every time with me. it's just I'm grateful I'm grateful that's why I wanted to give this goal to him and to Jesus Christ of course but having him around is a blessing and every day I try to remind myself that so it was just for him happy birthday to him yeah it's a really special moment and and such a lovely privilege to have him there to to watch you and I'm sure be incredibly proud of you thank you thank you and uh Jeremy I want to say to you for for me with the capabilities and abilities that you have on the field.

19:50I think you can be a 13, 15 goal a season guy. You know, you have so much ability in 1v1 situations and the decisiveness, right? When to shoot, when to pass. How has the feeling for you now, knowing that you can do this consistently, was there ever doubt in your mind that you couldn't be a consistent goal scorer and now you're feeling that you're getting the confidence age 23 turning 24 in a couple of weeks? No doubt, but I knew that at one point they had to come, you know. But I'm still like, there is one thing. When I look at my goals, all the goals this season, I don't see one tap-in, you know.

20:30And when I look at, for example, Sterling, his seasons here, all the tap-ins that he scored, at least five, six, seven a season. When I look at my goals, it's all like top goals, don't get me wrong. but I want to score also those goals where I just tap in second pose, just running, tap in at least five goals and then it adds more goals to my account. So that's really the thing that I need to work on. These goals will come. These goals will be there every time but if I add it with the easy goals, you have to be there. So that's the aspect that I want to work on to not only stay on the side and do my actions and score those types of goals but also just the easy tap-ins.

21:09And do you think that is a repetition thing or a chemistry thing? Is that a timing thing? Is that you on the training field thing? What do you view that as? I feel like it's a timing thing. I feel like when you do it once, oh, it works. Okay, so this is where I have to come. I feel like it's a timing thing. It's communication as well, and it's just analysing game after game and just a feeling. Like now I've done this shot, I feel how it is now to come inside and to curl it in. And it's the same thing with tap-ins. I feel like if I do it once, twice, I will be like, okay. So when it's there, this is the moment I need to go.

21:44This is the timing I need to have. So that's really something that even after these goals, I'm still like, Jeremy, this I need to add to my game to have more of those types of goals in my account. I love to hear it, bro. I love to hear it, man. I'm excited for you. I'm excited to see the involvement of your game, bro. I really love it. Listen, Jeremy, we really appreciate your time. We know you've got to get home after this game. So thank you so much for joining us. Title race on? Of course, of course. Thank you, Jeremy. Lovely to talk to you. Thank you very much, guys. Congratulations on the win and on the goal.

22:15Thank you. Thank you. He's amazing. How many times have we had people up there and they don't really want to give us anything? He gave us everything from his dad. He started really good questions from you. He started a play. The involvement on the improvement that he needs to make to get to the next level. The comparisons with Sterling, the knowledge of the history of the club, which I thought was interesting. That for me was the moment when I knew the penny dropped for him. Because when Man City signed Semenyo, I said the very reason why they signed him was because of that. He scores those goals.

22:50He's thinking like a striker. You have to, at one point, the penny has to drop and go, I'm a winger, I'm a supplier. That's the role of a winger. Modern wingers, it's goals. So he has to realise, I don't need to score worldies. He said it. Worldies are curling in the top corner. They're the hardest goals to score. You want to be in the six-yard box. You want a ball to rebound like Harlan's goal tonight, and you're just there. Or a cross comes in, you're there back post. Talk us through Harlan's goal, because of the movement. We talked at halftime about the movement, the chemistry. What happened today in terms of this goal?

23:22Again, you know, made the run go near post. And even there, you're thinking, has he fluffed it? And he sort of back heels it into the box. It looks like he's not interested. The defenders don't look like they're interested in him. He makes the movement and he kids him. Mamouche is almost in there creating a distraction and he just bundles it in the back of the net. But I feel like today's movement could have been better in the box. He did get some opportunities towards it. And I think that's, again, we talk about the involvement of players' games. You know, he gets his goal today, but all the goals he scored, I think he can do more.

23:57Tell me a little bit more about the movement of Haaland because it's something that he's praised for. Even if he doesn't have too many touches of the ball, even if maybe he hasn't scored for a few games and his goals mainly came before the turn of the year this season. What's different? What would he normally do and what's he doing now? Well, look, you see that one there, right? I talked about when a player comes inside on their stronger foot, you have to be a little bit back. On this one here, he's getting slowly into the box. I want to see him bust a goal. Boom, he gets it in there. For me, Erling needs to choose more moments to go to the near post and attack the front post, which is the selfless run.

24:35He likes these cutbacks a lot, which, fair enough, the wingers do that. But when you look at Aguero, you look at Alan Shearer, you look at the Van Nistelwes and these types of guys, this one, for instance, they would be saying, get across the front, man. That's what you're taught as a young centre-forward. Get across the front, man. But how difficult is when you've got so many defenders there? Because what defenders are doing against him? They're sort of having one in front and one behind. Sometimes you've got a bit of decoy. Be the decoy. Sometimes, I mean, like, sometimes you have to go, Rinders and these guys, Gundogan over the years, KDB over the years, the cutback comes back, they're running in with the momentum, Frank Lampard, Didier would make that front post run.