Manchester City edged up to fifth in the Premier League table thanks to a gritty 1-0 win Brentford.
Erling Haaland's superb early goal proved enough for City at the Gtech Community Stadium as Pep Guardiola secured his 250th Premier League win.
However, it was far from plan sailing for City, as Brentford's direct tactical approach caused problems for Ruben Dias and Co. late on.
The Bees have joined in the growing Premier League trend of teams looking to utilise their height advantage from long throws in attacking areas.
As Keith Andrews called Kristoffer Ayer, Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg forward at every opportunity, Haaland joked it was like 'throwback' to the glory days of Rory Delap.
"It was a tough game and reminded me of Stoke City with Rory Delap 15 years ago. They are huge and do throw-ins from the middle, so of course it is not easy," as per BBC Sport.
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"It's about preparing for what's going to come and we did. The backroom staff did their job really well.
"It's about preparation, getting ready for these games. You can be physically ready but you also need to be mentally ready."
Haaland now joins the majority of Guardiola's squad in heading off on international duty before return at home to Everton on October 18.
The 25-year-old will lead the line for Norway, in 2026 World Cup qualifier action against Israel on October 11, with captain Martin Odegaard now ruled out through injury.
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