JUST when it looked as though City were back in the title race, they shot themselves in the foot.
And this one might really kill any Etihad momentum stone dead.
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Two up with just a few minutes to play after a Phil Foden double, and with Kevin De Bruyne at the heart of everything that was good about their performance, City were on the verge of a fourth straight win.
The monster, it seemed, was starting to awaken.
A fact that would have chilled the blood of all the teams ahead of Pep Guardiola’s men.
Yet what happened next did not defy belief.
Not when you consider how poorly City have defended for so much of this season, as was again evidenced at the Gtech Community Stadium.
From control and a guaranteed three points, it all went absolutely pear-shaped.
First, appalling defending allowed the unmarked Yoane Wissa, found in front of goal, to fire into a gaping net.
Then, at the start of stoppage time, Christian Norgaard headed through the hands of Stefan Ortega to level.
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And if it had not been for Nathan Ake’s second goal line clearance of the night, this time to foil Bryan Mbeumo, the wheels would really have fallen off the City chariot.
Even so, this must have felt like a defeat for Guardiola – as it felt like a win for Brentford.
What will hurt Guardiola most, of course, is that his side appeared to have done the hard work.
With De Bruyne returning to his sparkling, effervescent best and Foden scoring twice at the ground where he claimed a Prem hat-trick last term, normal service looked like being returned.
Foden’s first was utterly exquisite, as was the role of De Bruyne.
Throughout an enthralling 90 minutes, the Belgian had stood out amid the mayhem with his calm precision.
For more than an hour, it added up to nothing as a series of openings were squandered.
Missed opportunities
Erling Haaland, Matheus Nunes and Savinho were all guilty.
The Norwegian twice aimed straight at Mark Flekken, Nunes took forever and a day and was robbed before he shot, Savinho drilled over before hitting the post in the second half – leaving Guardiola increasingly perplexed in his technical area.
Yet that all changed when Savinho picked up the ball in midfield, De Bruyne instinctively drifting right, finding those clever pockets of space as he had done all night.
This time, the cross was met by a glorious cushioned finish from the inside of Foden’s left foot.
The England man – who waited until December 21 to break his Prem duck for the season – added a second, when Savinho’s cross deflected into his path.
Game over? Surely – and the City fans, who sang in honour of one of the club’s local heroes, following the sad death of Tony Book, before the start, had a modern day one to serenade.
What followed, though, was not in the script – although hardly out of keeping.
Falling apart
For most of the match, Brentford had chiselled out openings but been unable to take them, Wissa and Mbeumo constant threats.
Indeed, even after the Foden opener, only a stunning effort by Ake, with Ortega already rounded by Mbeumo, had denied Wissa.
Earlier, Ortega had made a fine low save to deny Mbeumo, Wissa was twice narrowly off target, Nathan Collins had headed inches wide.
Foden’s second should have put an end to any of that.
Yet instead of calm control, City folded in spectacular style, to Guardiola’s sheer disbelief.
Josko Gvardiol had earlier made a terrific and vital block to thwart Wissa but he was absent without leave when Mathias Jensen floated to the far post and Mads Roerslev served it up on a plate for Wissa.
Brentford comeback
And in a madcap finale that saw openings at both ends, penalty shouts and sheer chaos, it was the Bees who did the stinging.
Norgaard’s header after he had been found by Keane Lewis-Potter really should have been kept out by Ortega. If you get your hands to the ball, it should not go in.
And the City keeper was scrambling in no man’s land as Mbeumo’s last-gasp effort header for the far corner, only for Ake’s head to prevent total collapse.
The Gtech went loco, rightly so. Thomas Frank congratulating each and every one of his players in the home dressing room.
For City, though, it was a devastating blow, perhaps the final one to their title chances. They cannot afford mistakes. And this was a huge one.
The poor result added to Guardiola’s woes shortly after it was reported that he split from his wife of 30 years.
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