Manchester City returned to winning ways in the Premier League as they beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at the Etihad on Saturday.
It was a game in which City were by far the better side during the opening hour, and netted via Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland, but the visitors responded in the final 30 minutes and caused City repeated issues, with Ansu Fati getting on the scoresheet.
The game was preceded by a minute of silence to pay respect for impacted by the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war, while a banner dedicated to the late Francis Lee was unfurled by City fans moments before kick-off.
When the action got going, it took City just seven minutes to find the breakthrough as Jeremy Doku flew down the line, cut inside and teed up Alvarez from around 12 yards out. The Argentinian shaped to shoot into the far corner but scuffed the effort which then flew past Jason Steele at his near post.
Brighton have struggled defensively this season and that was emphasised once again when Carlos Baleba’s loose pass was pounced on by Haaland in the 20th minute. City’s no.9 advanced and then unleashed a venomous strike from the edge of the box that soared into the Brighton goal.
Despite the early goals, it was a half light on chances, with City creating only three more, as Doku twice cut inside and fired just over, while Jokso Gvardiol tested Steele from distance.
Brighton’s only scoring opportunity came when Karou Mitoma wiggled his way through the City defence and fired at goal, but it was comfortably held by Stefan Ortega, who started ahead of first-choice Ederson. Yet, the Seagulls had the opening chance of the second period, as an off-balance Pascal Gross shot wide from a narrow angle.
City then went close with a free-kick from Alvarez that sailed just over, before Haaland latched onto a Phil Foden pass, cut inside and fired powerfully at goal, although the strike was directly at Steele.
From there, Brighton rallied and twice Mitoma went close, with Ortega flying out of his goal to close down the shooting angle for the Japanese winger, before his header from a corner hit the side netting. And on 73 minutes, Brighton found a way back into the game as Ansu Fati netted.
The goal actually began with Lewis Dunk scrambling back to his onw goalline to prevent Alvarez’s shot flying into an open net. From there, Brighton broke quickly via the excellent Mitoma and his cross wasn’t dealt with sufficiently by Manuel Akanji’s clearance, and it fell invitingly for the on-loan Barcelona man inside the City box.
Brighton searched for an equaliser as the game moved into the latter stage, but the Seagulls didn't create anything of note in the final 15 minutes. Manuel Akanji was sent off in injury-time after he picked up a second booking of the afternoon for hauling back an advancing Fati.
Here's how we rated City's players...
1. Stefan Ortega- 5
Wasn’t called into action often, but the stand-in stopper did well to keep out a shot from Mitoma midway through the second half. Ortega’s kicking wasn’t great though, much to the frustration of Guardiola.
2. Kyle Walker- 6
Had an ongoing battle with Mitoma throughout. Walker came out on top in the first half, but struggled to stop the attacker in the second period.
3. John Stones- 7 (off 75)
Helped City maintain dominance in the middle as he stepped into midfield. Stones rarely looked stretched from a defensive standpoint.
4. Manuel Akanji- 5
Didn’t deal well with Mitoma’s cross for the Brighton goal, and Akanji’s failed clearance fell perfectly for Fati to score from. The defender then was sent off for two yellow cards, the second of which was for an unnecessary hold on Fati.