Brighton 2-1 Man City: Player ratings as Guardiola's side fall to fourth successive defeat

Manchester City suffered their fourth defeat in a row when they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday evening.

An early effort from Erling Haaland was nullified as two further Brighton strikes secured their fate at the Amex. Pep Guardiola's side faced yet another setback in their journey to claim their fifth-successive Premier League title - handing a lifeline to Arne Slot's Liverpool at the top of the table.

It was all over before City were able to claw any chance of a victory back.

How the game unfolded

Pep Guardiola's side controlled possession from the offset as they looked to bounce back from back-to-back defeats against Sporting CP and Bournemouth. Brighton, unbeaten in the Premier League at home, put up a tough fight as they looked to dampen City's title hopes.

But then, the first big chance of the evening came for young winger Savinho - who slid in on the right but failed to beat Bart Verbruggen between the sticks. A great save from the goalkeeper was just a momentary celebration for the Seagulls, who conceded just seven minutes later.

It was Erling Haaland who took the glory for City's opening strike. The Norwegian flew towards the Brighton goal with absolute intent, firing a shot towards Verbruggen - who's touch was not enough to stop the striker from scoring.

City's ability to push on the counter proved dangerous for Brighton, splitting up the hosts' defence with ease. Heading into the break, Kaoru Mitoma attempted to set Danny Welbeck up for a shot on target. The striker played a great ball, but was unable to finish his effort - leaving Brighton searching for an equaliser.

When play resumed, the hosts continued to push. They attempted to break down City but were met with disappointment as Brighton's backline struggled to fend off their attacking talents.

However, their lifeline finally came in the 78th minute as Joao Pedro grabbed the ball inside the box and fired it into the net from close range. A scrappy affair saw City struggle to clear the initial attempt away from their box, leaving Pedro to finish the effort and equalise the scoreline.

Pedro's strike opened up the floodgates - with Brighton earning a second just moments later. The goalscorer added an assist to his CV after setting up a clear shot for Matthew O'Riley. The Dane strolled through City's backline before tapping an effort in, making it 2-1.

Brighton clung on to their deserved lead through nine minutes of injury time, leaving Guardiola's men disappointed from yet another trip to the south coast.

Brighton player ratings (4-4-2)

GK: Bart Verbruggen - 7/10 - Verbruggen made a fantastic save to deny Savinho in the early moments of the game and continued to be a force between the sticks. He was unlucky not to stop Haaland in the first half.

RB: Joel Veltman - 4/10 - Made some average clearances but was let down by his lack of pace. A disappointing performance from the Brighton defender.

CB: Jan Paul van Hecke - 6/10 - Compared to his defensive teammate, Van Hecke had a much more impressive performance at the back. He made sure to get himself on the ball whenever he could and broke down lines with ease.

CB: Igor - 5/10 - Igor was shown a yellow-card for a controversial foul on Haaland and struggled to impress against his opponent's attacking talents.

LB: Pervis Estupinan - 6/10 - The left-back enjoyed a strong performance against City, utilising his speed and agility to dance around his opponents.

RM: Simon Adingra - 6/10 - Controversially did not receive any help from the referee when he was fouled by Nunes. Despite this, Adingra worked hard to support his team and caused problems for City.

CM: Jack Hinshelwood - 6/10 - Did well to get on the end of useful crosses and facilitate late runs into the box while Brighton looked to break down City's defence.

CM: Yasin Ayari - 5/10 - A confident outing for Ayari, yet his confidence turned into arrogance when he began to play fast and loose with his challenges. He was lucky to remain on the pitch for a full half.

LM: Kaoru Mitoma - 7/10 - A beautiful performance from Mitoma who was unlucky not to etch his name onto the scoresheet. His work in attack created so many chances for Brighton.

ST: Georginio Rutter - 6/10 - The Frenchman worked hard in attack but was outshadowed by the talent next to him. He helped to drive Brighton's play, but was unable to score a goal of his own.

ST: Danny Welbeck - 7/10 - Surprisingly did not register a goal against City, but did ensure he was at the heart of all of Brighton's attacking play. Another commendable performance from the striker.

Substitutes

SUB: Carlos Baleba (46' for Ayari) - 6/10

SUB: Matthew O'Riley (57' for Hinshelwood) - 8/10 - Outrageous outing from O'Riley who scored the winning goal against the reigning champions.

SUB: Brajan Gruda (66' for Rutter) - 6/10

SUB: Joao Pedro (66' for Adringa) - 9/10 - Clinical, technical and unstoppable - Pedro was the game changer down on the south coast.

SUB: Jakub Moder (90' for Mitoma) - N/A

Subs not used: Jason Steele (GK), Julio Enciso, Mats Wieffer, Evan Ferguson.

Manager

Fabian Hurzeler - 8/10 - Made some incredible substitutions to change the game around. A deserved win against the Premier League champions.

Man City player ratings (4-1-4-1)

GK: Ederson - 5/10 - Was relatively untested between the sticks, before the final moments of the game, but did make some excellent line-breaking passes to his teammates.

RB: Rico Lewis - 7/10 - Lewis immediately moved higher up the pitch to help out the midfield and impressed with his duality. He made some excellent clearances and proved to work hard on the ball. Sometimes faltered in defensive duties.

CB: Kyle Walker - 5/10 - Walker's slow pace seemed to affect his ability to protect City's backline well. The senior defender looked to be one of the weaker aspects of the team, often proving liable when Brighton pushed on to attack.

CB: Jahmai Simpson-Pusey - 7/10 - Very strong showing from the 19-year-old who looked calm and composed at the back. The youngster picked his passes well and made sure to get himself into fantastic positions.

LB: Josko Gvardiol - 7/10 - Gvardiol made a stunning block in the first half to prevent Brighton from scoring and continued to impress in defence. A strong, commanding performance from the left-back.

DM: Mateo Kovacic - 8/10 - Absolutely immense showing from Kovacic. His ability to control the ball proved vital for City and his talent at fending off opponents whilst under pressure helped his side claim success.

RW: Savinho - 6/10 - Savinho missed the chance to put City ahead early on and was forced to work hard on the right side of the pitch to make up for Walker's lack of pace.

AM: Phil Foden - 6/10 - Struggled to impress against Brighton and needed to get more involved in the game if he wanted to make a true impact. However, he did drop further down the field to support his teammates on various occasions - a movement that seemed more fruitful.

AM: Ilkay Gundogan - 4/10 - Gundogan found it hard to get into the game. The midfielder made sloppy touches and lazy passes whilst struggling to keep up with the pace of the game.

LW: Matheus Nunes - 4/10 - Was lucky to escape a foul on Adingra. Nunes worked to create pockets of space, but ultimately his attacking contributions were mediocre at best.

ST: Erling Haaland - 7/10 - Haaland bagged his 12th Premier League goal and split the sides in the first half. The talented striker drove down the pitch at an impressive speed to create chances for his side - impressive.

Substitutes

SUB: Bernardo Silva (72' for Gundogan) - 6/10

SUB: Kevin De Bruyne (74' for Savinho) - 5/10

Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Jacob Wright, James McAtee, Nico O'Reilly.

Manager

Pep Guardiola - 4/10 - Another poor showing for the Catalan boss and his side. Guardiola failed to learn from the mistakes made in previous games and paid the price.

Player of the match - Joao Pedro (Brighton & Hove Albion)

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