- By Dan Evans at the Etihad Stadium
Bees’ boss Frank hails “best result in club’s history”
By Dan Evans at the Eitihad Stadium
Brentford manager Thomas Frank was in a jubilant mood following his side’s impressive 2-1 win at defending Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday.
A 98th-minute goal from Ivan Toney secured the victory for the Bees, as a resolute defensive performance was complemented by some incisive counterattacking.
Frank felt Toney’s late winner was just reward for an outstanding display from his side.
“Coming here and beating City is probably the best single result in the club’s history,” he declared.
“I think our performance today was very impressive. We were playing against potentially the best team in the world and we played the perfect game.
“You have to play the perfect game if you want to win at City.”
After being left out on Thursday of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, Toney gave Brentford a 16th-minute lead when he headed home a Ben Mee flick on.
Phil Foden drew Pep Guardiola’s men level on the stroke of half-time, but the Brentford talisman’s decisive late goal meant the day belonged to him.
“What a player!” Frank said of Toney.
“People are defined by how they respond to setbacks. You can either feel sorry for yourself or respond and put in a top performance.
“He should have scored five goals. I think he had five good chances.”
Frank added that he hoped Toney’s World Cup dreams might still come to fruition.
“If they (England) get an injury to one of the forward players, I hope Gareth will think about Ivan,” said the Dane.
Despite the match-winning contribution of Brentford’s top-scorer, Frank was determined to praise everyone involved at Brentford for the remarkable result.
“We are the bus stop in Hounslow playing against potentially the biggest club in the world and we deserved to win,” he said.
“The credit needs to go to the players for having a strong mentality, and all of the staff do a top job as well.
“To come here and beat City is mind-blowing.
“We created another unbelievable moment; a magic moment.”
