Brighton Vs Manchester City Premier League match ended on a shocking note with the Seagulls completing a second-half comeback over the Premier League champions.
Goals from Pedro and O’Riley saw the Fabian Hurzeler-led side come from behind to stun City and extend the visitors’ losing streak to four straight matches.
The loss has seen Pep Guardiola hits his lowest trough in his managerial career, losing four matches in a row for the first time.
Brighton Vs Manchester City Premier League records
Manchester City went into the game on the back of three consecutive defeats, which began with a 2-1 EFL Cup loss to Tottenham Hotspur on October 30, 2024.
The EFL Cup deadlock was followed with a shock 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth in the Premier League on November 2, 2024, before a heavy 4-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to Sporting Lisbon three days later.
Away at Falmer Stadium, Pep Guardiola hoped to overturn the dragging run of defeats and return the team to winning ways.
Brighton also went into the game on the back of a winless three-match run that began with a 2-2 draw with Wolves in the Premier League on October 26, 2024, before a back-to-back defeat to Liverpool in the EFL Cup and Premier League, respectively.
They faced the tough task of overturning the deadlock against a star-studded City also hungry for victory.
Meanwhile, records showed they have conceded more Premier League goals against Manchester City (40) than any other Premier League club. Furthermore, they haven’t been able to keep a clean sheet in their last 14 meetings against the Premier League champions.
A flip side of the stats showed Manchester City have lost just one of their 14 meetings with the Seagulls, winning 12 and drawing one.
However, City were set to face a tough task of turning out with a positive result at the Falmer Stadium. Under Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton made the venue a fortress, not losing all five matches in the campaign before the encounter. They had secured two wins, drawing three.
Meanwhile, City’s 36-match unbeaten streak in the English top flight grounded to a halt at the Vitality Stadium against Bournemouth, with Brighton hoping to build on their home advantage.
Brighton Vs Manchester City major highlights
City emerged off the woods with an early possession and were lording the game over the hosts as one would have expected, but Brighton’s brickwall defense was a force to be reckoned with.
The hosts did not actively try to contest possession but sat back to soak up the pressure and hoped to break on counters.
City’s first big chance came in the 17th minute. Foden had whipped an excellent free-kick delivery into the box, and it evaded the Brighton defense, allowing Haaland a free shot on goal at the far post. However, the striker was reaching for it and couldn’t turn his effort goalwards.
Six minutes after the miss, Erling Haaland finally stung the hosts with a fine finish. Brighton had carelessly lost possession in the midfield, and Kovacic latched on the ball and found Haaland with a nice through-ball.
With his characteristic peng movements, Haaland found space through Brighton’s defenders and fired on goal. Brighton’s goalkeeper initially saved it, but the rebound fell for the Norwegian again, who finished the rebound prudently to give City the lead.
Just three minutes after the first goal, Haaland nearly doubled the lead, but Brighton’s goalkeeper was up to his shot, making a terrific save to keep the score margin respectable.
Meanwhile, Brighton’s only big chance came five minutes after the half-hour when Mitoma found Welbeck. Welbeck then made a great attempt on target, but Manchester City defender Gvardiol made a brilliant block to deny the hosts.
Haaland’s goal made all the difference as City went into the break with the lead.
Brighton Vs Manchester City second-half report
City had a slow start to the second half, with Brighton boldly growing into the game. Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler made a series of subs that changed the trajectory of the game. Baleba came in for Ayari, Hinshelwood was out for O’Riley, Adingra for Pedro, and Rutter hurled off for Gruda as well.
12 minutes after coming on, Pedro netted the equalizer for the home side. City had failed to deal with Mitoma’s cross, leading to a scramble inside the box before Joao Pedro then nicked it off everyone and fired it into the back of the net.
Five minutes after the equalizer, City were dealt a heavy blow as Brighton completed the comeback in style. Another second-half substitute, O’Riley, was left unmarked to poke home Joao Pedro’s cross and make it 2-1 for the hosts.
The goal saw Brighton race to the finish line, but City had a lengthy nine minutes of additional time to find an equalizer. Things went frenetic in the final minutes as City built pressure to find an equalizer, all to no avail.
Brighton won 2-1 after the final whistle, recording their second win over Manchester City in 15 games.
The Premier League table after the Brighton Vs Manchester City match
Manchester City missed a chance to temporarily overtake Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table following the loss. They are second with 23 points and risk trailing Liverpool by five points should the Reds win their fixture against Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Brighton climbed to fourth in the Premier League table with 19 points following the victory. However, they could slip down if a winner emerges in the cracker between Chelsea and Arsenal.
City wraps up action in the Premier League with a defeat before the November international break. They have now gone four matches straight without a win and will hope to return to winning ways when hosting Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, November 23, 2024, in their next match. Brighton will travel to Vitality Stadium to take on Bournemouth in their next fixture.
