Brentford beat Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday thanks to a brace by striker Ivan Toney. Goals by the 26-year-old center forward came 82 minutes apart from each other. The victory for the visitors broke a 16-game home winning streak at the Etihad by City.
Toney was recently omitted from the England national team’s World Cup roster. Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate snubbed the striker in favor of Newcastle’s Callum Wilson.
Saturday’s brace now gives Toney 10 Premier League goals in 14 matches so far this season. Wilson, on the other hand, has scored six league goals for the Magpies.
Toney won’t let England snub discourage him
After the match in Manchester, Toney was asked about the disappointing news to be left out of the England squad. “I mean, it’s obviously a disappointment, but listen: I know what I’m capable of and I won’t let it put me down. Just keep going and keep doing well for Brentford,” Toney told BT Sport.
The striker was also asked if he was motivated by the snub. “Motivation is the boys in the dressing room and the fans as you can see,” proclaimed Toney. “I mean, when we work hard, this is what we can do.”
While Toney thrived on Saturday, City superstar striker Erling Haaland was held in check throughout the game. It was just the third Premier League match this season that the Norway international failed to score in. Brentford’s defense, including goalkeeper David Raya, was also immense.
BT Sport asked Toney if he expected his team to play this well. “I mean, yeah. What we’re capable of and what we do week in and week out on the training pitch, we can do things like this,” said the striker. “And yeah, they might be Man City, but they’re humans. Humans can lose games.”
The loss by City means that Arsenal will enter the World Cup break as Premier League leaders. The Gunners face Wolves on Saturday as they look to extend their lead over City in the standings.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Focus Images
