It was a goal that had been recreated maybe hundreds of times on the pitches of the City Football Academy in recent years. Kevin De Bruyne's magical right foot whips in a cross for Phil Foden that only needs guiding into the back of the net.

It gave Manchester City the lead at Brentford, another signal that some of their key attacking players are threatening a return to form. Defensive deficiencies cost them at the Gtech Community Stadium but going forward, the Blues looked good.

Savinho was on the end of one of those Pep Guardiola coaching clinics at full-time, but the Brazilian is improving and was only denied an excellent goal by the post. Mark Flekken also denied him on a few occasions.

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De Bruyne had most of his effective games for a while. His radar wasn't always perfect, but his assist for Foden was wonderful and he twice created good chances for Erling Haaland in the first half.

Then there is Foden. He's not alone in struggling to recapture his best form for City, but he was the outstanding player in the Premier League last season, and the drop-off in the first half of this campaign was stark. Pep Guardiola needed him to recapture some of that magic.

Recently, there have been signs his best level is returning. After his double at Brentford, he has scored four goals in his last five Premier League games. It was the first time since the final day of last season that he scored twice in a game.

Asked if he needed those goals to keep his own momentum going, he said: "Yeah. Personally yes. It’s three in the last two now. So, yeah, it gives you the confidence obviously, scoring today, for the next game. But I’d have preferred to get the three points in the situation that we're going through.

"I've been training with Kev for many years. We do these things in training, where he whips the balls in and I practice finishing. He always gives you the perfect pass and I just had to help it on. But it was nice to see it hit the back of the net."

City have scored 14 goals in their last three games, and although eight came against Salford, the attack is looking sharper. Haaland's double against West Ham was the first time he had scored twice in a game since late November, and he also had chances in West London.

The Blues could have scored more than two against Brentford, who created plenty of chances themselves. Perhaps this is a case of forwards finding form when they really need to. City have agreed deals with Lens for Abdukodir Khusanov and Palmeiras for Vitor Reis, but the centre-backs are set to be followed by Omar Marmoush.

Talks remain ongoing between City and Eintracht Frankfurt for the 25-year-old Egyptian, who scored one and created two more in his team's 4-1 Bundesliga win on Tuesday night.

That is the kind of impact Marmoush can have, and he will bring something different to City's front line. It felt telling that Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku were both left on the bench against Brentford despite positive performances against Salford.

Not every attacker is back in form for City, but there are signs of progress. De Bruyne might be coming to the end of his Etihad career, but on his day, he remains the most creative force in the league.

Foden was outstanding last season, and if he can rise to that level again, he can still have a big impact on City's campaign. The penny has also dropped with Savinho, who is ahead of Doku and Grealish on the left.

Marmoush will add something to this City squad, and Foden is excited to welcome new arrivals, but the Bundesliga forward suddenly won't find his route to the team quite as clear as it might have been a few weeks ago.