Fans were stunned when Brentford exploited a lesser-known rule to score a goal against Man City

SOME FANS were left in disbelief after Brentford exploited a little-known rule to take the lead against Manchester City – and Pep Guardiola didn't even notice.

The Bees suffered a 3-1 defeat at home against the Cityzens on Monday evening.

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Phil Foden stole the show with a stunning hat-trick as the champions closed the gap to just two points on leaders Liverpool.

However, it was Brentford who broke the deadlock in the game in the 21st minute after taking route one.

The incident happened straight from a goal kick by Mark Flokken, who punched the ball straight onto the pitch towards Ivan Toney.

The Bees striker had started in an offside position before stopping City defender Nathan Aké without touching the ball.

This allowed the side to bounce forward towards the City goal, with Neal Maupay charging through to get past Ederson.

City's defense was completely oblivious to this move, and it seems their manager was too.

Replays later showed Guardiola was looking from the opposite direction of the pitch and talking to his bench when Toney's magical moment happened.

Some fans, and even City players, were baffled by the fact that the goal was allowed to stand given Toney's position when Flokken kicked it.

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However, the rules state that a player cannot be offside on a goal kick, and other supporters loved that he had exploited that loophole.

“Ivan Toney understands the fine print of the football rules. My word,” wrote one.

Another said: “Honestly I was a year old today when I discovered there is no offside for goal kicks.”

A third continued: “That's quality from Ivan Toney, what a smart run from Maupay too.”

While a fourth added: “Brentford humiliates the noisy VAR club.”