Erling Haaland had given the visitors the lead at the Amex Stadium, but they failed to make the dominance count before collapsing late on
Manchester City suffered their second-successive Premier League defeat as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Brighton on Sunday. Erling Haaland marked his 100th appearance in the English top-flight with a goal, but Pep Guardiola's side fell apart in the final quarter of the match on the south coast.
Haaland wasted a golden early opportunity when he was played through on goal by Omar Marmoush as he fired a weak effort straight at Bart Verbruggen, while at the other end James Trafford got down well to tip Kaoru Mitoma's low shot past the post. Haaland eventually broke the deadlock, however, when he bounced back from having a header saved by Verbruggen to latch onto Marmoush's poked pass and net from close range.
City dominated proceedings until the midway point of the second half, only for a quadruple substitution from Fabian Hurzeler to bring the hosts to life. They almost-instantly won a penalty following those changes as Matheus Nunes was penalised for a handball inside the box, and James Milner sent Trafford the wrong way from the spot.
Brighton piled on the pressure in search of a winner, and Trafford was forced to perform heroics to claw away Jan Paul van Hecke's header. However, he could do nothing to deny Brajan Gruda from netting the winner in the 89th minute as he broke through after City's defence was torn apart.
GOAL rates City's players from the Amex Stadium…
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James Trafford (7/10):
Didn't look like his confidence had been hit by last week's error as he showed comfort with the ball at his feet. Got down well to deny Mitoma early on before standing tall to keep out Minteh on the hour mark and performed heroics to claw away Van Hecke's header. Had no chance with either goal.
Matheus Nunes (6/10):
Continues to improve as a right-back as he kept Mitoma relatively quiet while using the ball well in possession. Slightly unfortunate to concede the penalty.
John Stones (5/10):
Played Mitoma onside for his early chance and looked a little slow at times. Not as effective in possession compared to a few years ago, and his failure to cut out a forward pass led to Brighton's winner.
Abdukodir Khusanov (6/10):
Perhaps his best performance in a City to shirt for the first 65 minutes as he carried the ball into midfield well and was aggressive when called on defensively. Booked shortly before the equaliser, and was targeted thereafter.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (4/10):
Gave the ball away in poor areas on a couple of occasions as he came out second-best on occasion up against Minteh. Booked in the second half.
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Rodri (8/10):
Oozed class in everything he did at the heart of the City midfield. Still getting up to full fitness, but showed exactly what the team have been missing due to his injury absence.
Bernardo Silva (6/10):
Didn't offer much of note in possession, but showed good energy in midfield to win the ball back and pressure the opposition.
Tijjani Reijnders (6/10):
Struggled early on with the ferocity of Brighton's press but grew into the game as it wore on.
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Oscar Bobb (7/10):
Caused panic whenever he got onto the ball and drove towards the Brighton penalty area. Played his part in the opening goal.
Erling Haaland (6/10):
Wasted two early openings before being denied by Verbruggen. Eventually got his goal with an expert close-range finish, but faded out of the game in the second half.
Omar Marmoush (7/10):
Showed excellent, quick feet inside the penalty area to lay on Haaland's opener, and looked dangerous when picking up the ball in the half-spaces. Replaced for the final 20 minutes.
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Nico O'Reilly (5/10):
On in midfield for the final 20 minutes but couldn't stop the waves of Brighton pressure.
Jeremy Doku (5/10):
Struggled to pose much of a threat after replacing Marmoush.
Rico Lewis (N/A):
On for Nunes in the final 10 minutes.
Ruben Dias (N/A):
Couldn't get across quickly enough to keep Brighton from sweeping through on their way to Gruda's winner.
Pep Guardiola (5/10):
His team looked like they were getting back to their best for an hour, but they struggled to create clear-cut chances and were made to pay. His failure to adapt after Hurzeler's inspired substitutions was concerning.