Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola always knew Erling Haaland would return to goalscoring ways after his side's crucial 1-0 win over Brentford on Tuesday night.
The home side dominated possession, had 25 shots - including 11 on target - and managed 10 corners to their opponents' one on a frustrating night of action.
But Erling Haaland bagged the only goal of the game to break Brentford hearts and boost City's chances of a fourth straight Premier League title.
It was a big moment for the Norway international, especially given how he'd missed several big chances against Chelsea on Sunday.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola has hailed Erling Haaland after his side's Premier League win over Brentford
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But Guardiola has insisted he always knew Haaland would come good because the 23-year-old is 'always a threat'.
"He’s been injured a long time," said the Spaniard, whose side are now up to second in the league table.
"He’s always a threat in these situations. We need these types of players."
Guardiola was also happy with how City kept pressing for a winner, despite Brentford being plucky in defeat.
He continued: "They’re such a difficult team. Last season we lost six points [against Brentford].
"They have the ability with Ivan Toney – he’s a master player, a really good player.
"Other than that they’re really good at free-kicks, throw-ins and so on.
"We had a lot of chances considering how difficult it is to play against them, and we’ve won our game in hand.
"The performance was really good, once again, and I’m happy for the result.
"I think we had less chances in the second half than in the first. We struggled a little bit in the second half."
"The players, for years, have done incredible things, and they’re still doing it."
City defender Manuel Akanji also spoke out.
And the former Borussia Dortmund star was happy his team were able to get the job done and unlock Brentford, who will feel frustrated to come away from the match with no points to their name.
"It wasn’t easy," said the defender. "We scored a goal on the counter-attack.
"The defender slipped early and the efficiency was there [from Erling Haaland]. He scored a great goal.
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Erling Haaland bounced back from his nightmare against Chelsea as Man City secured all three points against Brentford
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"We know how hard it is to play against Brentford, with their back five.
"That’s why we tried to attack and we didn’t run into too many counter-attacks. I can’t remember too many big chances they had.
"After the weekend we had to show a reaction and I feel we did that. Now we have to improve game by game."
As for City star Oscar Bobb, the younger said it was 'crazy' to be playing alongside Haaland.
"He's the best in the world. He's only three years older than me but it's crazy to play with one of the greats," he admitted.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola was delighted after his side's narrow Premier League win over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium
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"We were up against a very good team and we had some good chances that usually we would score.
"It was a tough opponent."
