Brighton heaped further misery onto Manchester City as the Premier League champions suffered their fourth consecutive defeat for the first time under Pep Guardiola.
City largely dominated the first-half and deservedly took the lead through Erling Haaland, but goals from second-half substitutes Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley earned Brighton a famous victory at the AmEx Stadium.
Guardiola’s side were in desperate need of a positive result after their 4-1 thrashing at the hands of new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim’s Sporting side in midweek.
But they were to find no such antidote on the south coast. Brighton and manager Fabian Hurzeler, coming up against Guardiola for the first time and who before the game had said “it would be much nicer to meet him and to beat him”, maintained their unbeaten home record this term.
The result lifts Brighton up to fourth, while City could fall five points adrift of league leaders Liverpool should they beat Aston Villa at Anfield.
FT: WHAT A COMEBACK FOR ALBION! 🤩🤩🤩
[2-1] 📲 #BHAMCI // #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/hjIgZIjnaT
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) November 9, 2024
City, however, began the much brighter of the two teams. Savinho, impressive in the early stages, drew a fine stop from Verbruggen when he was slid through by Kovacic after a blistering City move.
But the Brighton stopper’s outstretched leg was enough to divert the Brazilian’s effort wide.
Yasin Ayari was then booked for a cynical pull back on Phil Foden as the visitors began to frustrate their hosts.
And City’s promising start paid off when Haaland, who had faced some criticism before the game after a run of one goal in his last five league games, silenced the doubters after 23 minutes when he was played in brilliantly by Kovacic.
The Croatian intercepted the ball close to the half-way line, beat one Brighton player before threading an inch-perfect pass between two defenders; a ball Haaland confidently took in his stride before prodding home at the second attempt.
And that is why you keep Erling Haaland in your FPL team 🤝 pic.twitter.com/6jBvFuoWgx
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 9, 2024
City and indeed the Haaland seemed to be in the mood and the Norwegian nearly helped himself to a second moments later when his right-footed shot cannoned off Verbruggen and onto the outside of the post.
Brighton were rattled and struggled to establish any kind of rhythm in the opening half an hour.
Since May 2021, City had only lost once in the Premier League in games when they had scored first, so things quickly began to look ominous for Brighton.
The increasingly-influential Kovacic stung the palms of Verbruggen with a half-volley as the hosts continued to be pegged back.
But Brighton are the only Premier League side not to have lost when conceding first, and on 35-minutes, the in-form Danny Welbeck gave the home faithful some hope when his shot required an impressive sliding block from Josko Gvardiol.
For the first time in the match, Hurzeler’s team offered a threat going forward as they tried to wrestle momentum back from the champions.
However, it was a half of football that City largely dominated. When Igor was booked for dissent after hauling Haaland to the turf, it encapsulated the host’s frustrations, while the visitors deservedly went into the break a goal to the good.
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 9, 2024
Shortly after the restart, Brighton had a glorious chance to draw level when Pervis Estupinan’s whipped cross found the head of Jack Hinshelwood.
But the midfielder could only find the gloves of Ederson when he perhaps should have done better.
It was the last action for the talented 19-year-old, who hobbled off injured, replaced by Matt O’Riley making his Premier League debut.
Brighton had their tails up and another substitute, Joao Pedro, should have at least hit the target when he skewed a left-footed strike well wide as he charged down on goal.
But with less than 15 minutes remaining, Joao Pedro atoned for his earlier miss when he bundled the ball home after Welbeck’s initial effort had been blocked by Rico Lewis.
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 9, 2024
On the second-half showing, it was the least Brighton deserved. City barely troubled Verbruggen despite the introductions of Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne off the bench.
After such a dominant first-half, it was City’s turn to be on the ropes, trying to claw back momentum against a now-raucous crowd at the AmEx Stadium.
And five minutes later, the hosts made their pressure pay when O’Riley put his team ahead after finishing confidently to mark a memorable first appearance in the Premier League.
The visitors tried desperately to get back into the contest. Foden dragged a shot wide and Gvardiol glanced a header the wrong side of the post as time started to slip away from the champions.
In the end, Brighton held on for a famous victory. For their manager, his hopes of meeting and beating Guardiola had become reality.
For City, four successive defeats for the first time in the Guardiola era leaves plenty of questions about how they get their season back on track.
