Goalkeeper Mark Flekken said that he has “finally adapted to the league and found my place” following Brentford’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.

The Dutchman was in fine form on Monday night, making 12 saves to keep City at bay – the joint-most in a Premier League match since 2 December 2017 (David De Gea, 14 saves v Arsenal).

“You just keep going to the next one; you don’t start counting during the game,” he said.

“It feels like I’ve finally adapted to the league and found my place. I’ve got back to the level I used to be before my transfer to Brentford. It finally fits together, all of the pieces, and that feels good.

“It feels good to finally be able to show what kind of keeper I can be.”

Flekken also became the first goalkeeper to provide an assist in the Premier League this season.

Neal Maupay latched on to the keeper’s long ball over the top and kept his composure to slide beyond Ederson and give Brentford the lead midway through the first half.

“I started as an outfield player in my youth, as that has helped a lot over the years,” he smiled.

“It’s just about training it and developing it. It’s developed to be a big part of my play, like everyone can see on the pitch.

“I hope to help my team by being as efficient as possible and that one was quite efficient today.”

Flekken added: “We spoke before the match about Ivan [Toney] finding the position, and we had some footage of David [Raya] and Ivan from last year when they did the same, just to get out of the pressure and the man-marking.

“I felt like he found the right position to open up the gap and Neal ran into the space. With a little bit of wind behind me it got far enough for the assist.”