The perfect response' – Rio Ferdinand hails Ivan Toney’s double in stunning Brentford win over Manchester City
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Updated 12/11/2022 at 20:24 GMT
Ivan Toney secured a stunning brace, including a stoppage-time winner, to give Brentford a magnificent 2-1 win away at Manchester City. Toney scored either side of Phil Foden's equaliser to give the Bees all three points, as Thomas Frank's side, at least temporarily, moved up to tenth in the Premier League table. It was City's second defeat the season and means Arsenal will be top at Christmas.
Italy defender Bonucci doesn't know Ivan Toney's name - but still rates him
Rio Ferdinand hailed Ivan Toney for his response to being left out of England’s World Cup squad, as his brace secured a dramatic 2-1 win away at Manchester City.
Toney headed Brentford in front against the reigning Premier League champions, before Phil Foden equalised before break.
However, the Bees frontman had the last laugh with a close-range finish in stoppage time to consign Pep Guardiola’s side to a second defeat of the season.
“What a result for Brentford,” Ferdinand told BT Sport.
“They showed that there is a way to win here if you’ve got the right energy and the desire to do so. If you’ve got that resilience at the back and a threat at the other end of the pitch, you’ve got a chance.
“When you’ve got someone like Toney to play off, to bring other people into the game and finish off chances, you really give yourself a great chance.”
When quizzed as to whether or not Gareth Southgate would regret his decision to omit Toney, Ferdinand replied: “He’ll still be comfortable with his decision, but from Toney’s point of view this was a perfect response.
“He needed this two weeks ago, and if he did that then it could have been a different outcome. But he can only do what he can do now; he got two good goals today and his team won.”
Peter Crouch echoed Ferdinand’s sentiments and joked that Thomas Frank will be heading off his skiing holiday with renewed vigour, as the Bees secured their first away win of the season in style.
“We asked him before the game how has he (Toney) been around the place? How has he reacted? He said he’s reacted very well. We saw today that he was the best player on the pitch - he held the ball well and his all-round game was good.
“He was a constant threat, good in the air and got the two goals. It was a great reaction for Brentford going into a big break like this. Thomas Frank said he was going skiing before the match; he’ll be racing down the slopes now!”
Meanwhile the result was a huge boost for Arsenal, who are now guaranteed to be top of the Premier League over Christmas, but Joleon Lescott preferred to focus on the brilliance and bravery Brentford showed.
“He’s (Mikel Arteta) going in there top of the league at Christmas, which is a nice position to be in at Arsenal.
"But going back to this game, Brentford gave as good as they got, they didn’t just come here, try to nullify City and hit them on the counter-attack. They played an aggressive style, committed men forward and matched them with energy.
"They were able to compete in every level of the game, and that’s not something you see often, especially here at the Etihad.”
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