An email: “Jawing with an opposing player is one Hecke of a way to deflect scrutiny away from Pep and his players!” writes Peter Oh. “Never change, Mr. Guardiola!”
Brighton 2-1 Manchester City
Premier League match report: Ed Aarons has filed his on-the-whistle musing from the south coast, where Manchester City have been consigned to their fourth consecutive defeat in three different competitions under Pep Guardiola.
Joao Pedro: "I'm happy to score"
“First, I’m happy to be back,” says the Brazilian who bagged Brighton’s opener. “I know I’m an important player for the team so when we win like this against a big team it is good. Now we have time to breathe and win more games.
On his goal: “I had too many people there but I’m always told to follow the action so I was there and I’m happy to score. After two months out, I’m very happy to be back. Last season we dropped too many points and the gaffer told us to believe in ourselves this season and we are doing well this season against the big teams.”
Jamie Redknapp: Working as a pundit on Sky Sports, the former Liverpool midfielder can’t believe what he’s just seen. “That is one of the worst halves of football I’ve seen from a Pep Guardiola side,” he says.
“They were abject, they didn’t defend, they didn’t win individual battles and they didn’t pass the ball forward at times. First half they were excellent but second half when Hurzeler made the subs, there was only one team that was going to win it.”
I would argue that’s a little bit harsh but Brighton were more than worthy winners of this game despite having only a slightly higher xG: 2-26 to City’s 2.16. CIty certainly seemed to run out of ideas the longer the second half went on.
The Premier League table: Manchester City stay in second place, two points behind Liverpool having played one game more. Brighton surge up the table to fourth, level on points with third-placed Nottingham Forest, who have a game in hand over them.
Pep Guardiola: Doing the rounds of the post-match handshakes, the City manager stops to have a long and very animated chat with Brighton defender Jean Paul van Hecke. There doesn’t appear to be any animosity between the duo, it’s just Pep being Pep.
Full time: Brighton 2-1 Man City
Sound the crisis klaxon! Manchester City have been beaten again, with Brighton passing a stern test of their mettle by overturning a half-time deficit to win 2-1. Erling Haaland opened the scoring for Manchester City but Brighton substitutes Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley won the game for their side with two goals in the space of five minutes.
90+9 min: A De Bruyne cross to the far post is cleared, then Verbruggen plucks a return cross from Bernardo Silva from the air. Haaland and Van Hecke are both booked for a set-to. It’s all over!
90+8 min: City’s pressure is relentless but Matheus Nunes stretches to control a Bernardo Silva pass inside and gives away possession.
90+7 min: City try to break upfield but Bernardo Silva finds himself surrounded in midfield. He wins a free-kick but nothing comes of it.
90+5 min: It’s heart-in-mouth time for Brighton’s fans as Josko Gvardiol flings himself at a curled Kyle Walker cross into the Brighton box. He powers his bullet header wide of the right post.
90+4 min: If City go on to lose this game, Liverpool will be able to open a five-point gap on them with a win over Villa in tonight’s 8pm game at Anfield.
90+3 min: Staring down the barrel of a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions, City’s players advance again. Brighton’s defence is resolute and Estupinan sprints to put the ball out for a throw-in near the corner flag.
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90+2 min: Phil Foden shoots narrowly wide of the far post with a low daisycutter from just inside the Brighton box.
90+1 min: We’re into nine minutes of added time. Jakub Moder has replaced Kaoru Mitoma in the Brighton line-up.
89 min: De Bruyne shoots from 20 yards but his effort whistles a couple of feet high and wide of the far top corner.
88 min: Foden jinks in from the right but is closed down by Brajan Gruda. Moments later, Igor heads a Kevin De Bruyne cross from the byline clear.
86 min: Brighton are dominating possession in these closing stages, although there’ll be a fair bit of added time, given the injury to Jack Hinshelwood, the substitutions and that lengthy break for the IT repairs on referee Sam Barrott’s comms unit.
84 min: Hats off to Fabian Hurzeler, whose substitutions are paying handsome dividends. On the City bench, Pep Guardiola is slumped in his seat vigorously rubbing his face with his hands.
GOAL! Brighton 2-1 Man City (O'Riley 83)
Brighton lead! Matt O’Riley is slipped in behind the City defence courtesy of a beautifully weighted Joao Pedro pass and confidently steers the ball past the onrushing Ederson.
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82 min: Brighton’s tails are up as they go in search of a second goal against opposition whose confidence has taken a knock in recent matches.
80 min: Another good scoring opportunity appeared to go a begging for Brighton, when Welbeck was unable to trouble Ederson after collecting a cross from Mitoma. However, with City unable to clear it, the ball broke kindly for Pedro, whose shot into the ground beat the City goalkeeper. It’s no more than Brighton deserve.
GOAL! Brighton 1-1 Man City (Pedro 78)
Brighton are level. Joao Pedro lashes home from seven yards out after the ball broke his way when a Danny Welbeck shot was blocked by a cluster of City defenders on the edge of the six-yard box.
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77 min: Jamai Simpson-Pusey is booked for some indiscretion or other. Dissent, I think.
75 min: Baleba plays the ball out wide to Mitoma, who combines with Joao Pedro. O’Riley gets on the ball and fizzes a cross into the City box and across the face of goal but is unable to pick out Welbeck.
74 min: Silva tries to pick out Phil Foden with a crossfield ball but Igor intercepts, heading it back to Bart Verbruggen. Another Man City substitution: Kevin De Bruyne is on for Savinho.
73 min: With the natives getting restless, play finally resumes with a City goal kick.
72 min: Man City substitution: Bernardo Silva comes on for Ilkay Gundogan.
70 min: There’s another break in play so the referee can have some running repairs done on the battery pack powering his comms device.
69 min: Joao Pedro gets in behind Walker to latch on to a ball over the top from deep. His first touch is excellent and takes him closer to goal but he fires his low diagonal effort well wide of the far post.
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68 min: A delightful Mitoma cross from the left somehow finds its way past three City defenders to land at the feet of Danny Welbeck about six yards out. He wasn’t expecting the ball to come his way and can’t sort his feet out in time to get a shot off.
66 min: Brighton double-substitution: Brajan Gruda and Joao Pedro on for Adingra and Rutter.
65 min: Rutter heads over the City bar from 10 yards after connecting with another excellent Estupinan cross from the left.
64 min: Correction, it was Savinho, not Nunes, who tried to score the most Mo Salah goal imaginable on that occasion.
62 min: Nunes gets the better of Adingra down the left but is unable to pull the ball into the path of Haaland. It’s recycled and Nunes tries to curl a shot inside the far post after cutting inside from the right. Wide.
59 min: Adingra opts for a safety first approach as he puts a crossfield ball from Simpson-Pusey out of play for a throw-in deep in inside his own half under pressure from Nunes. It’s nicely poised, this game.
57 min: Matt O’Riley comes on for his long overdue Premier League debut, replacing the injured Jack Hinshelwood in Brighton’s midfield.
56 min: Igor shins the ball over his own bar as he cuts out a Haaland cross that was heading straight for Savinho at the far post. Excellent defending – he could easily have scored an own-goal.
55 min: After dogged work on the edge of the Brighton penalty area by Rico Lewis, Gundogan tries to poke the ball past Verbruggen at his near post but the angle is far too tight.
53 min: There’s a break in play as Hinshelwood receives treatment,. He really should have scored with that powerful header after connecting with Estupinan’s cross from the left but sent his effort too near Ederson.
52 min: Ederson is forced into action again, clawing away a downward header from Hinshelwood from seven yards out.
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51 min: Adingra sends a cross from the right to the far post, where Mitoma’s weak header fails to trouble Ederson unduly. It’s catching practice for the City goalkeeper.
48 min: Brighton advance with Welbeck on the ball and it’s played wide to Mitoma, then back across to the other side of the pitch. Matheus Nunes bodychecks Adingra but his blatant foul goes unpunished by the referee, Sam Barrott. The denizens of the Amex Stadium boo disapprovingly and there’s a short break in play while Adingra receives treatment.
46 min: Interviewed by Sky just before the restart, Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler said he has told his players to play with “more courage and intensity”. He seemed to think they were paying their exalted visitors too much respect.
Second half: Brighton 0-1 Man City
46 min: The only Premier League side not to have lost a game in which they’ve conceded the first goal this season, Brighton get the second half started. Carlos Baleba is on in midfield for Brighton, with Yasin Ayari making way.
Half-time: Brighton 0-1 Man City
The sides go off with City leading courtesy of Erling Haaland’s determined strike off the underside of the bar after his initial effort was blocked by Verbruggen. Despite being dominated for the opening half-hour, Brighton have grown back into the game and Danny Welbeck was denied his first ever goal against Manchester City by an excellent Gvardiol block.
45+2 min: Estupinan runs on to a passs from Igor and has a cross put out for a Brighton corner. They won’t get to take it as the flag had gone up for offside. It’s half-time.
45+2 min: We’re into two minutes of added time, which seems excessive as there have been no substitutions or injuries and the ball rarely seems to have been out of play. Never mind.
44 min: Igor bundles over Haaland in the centre-circle and is booked for dissent after complaining about being penalised. It’s a cheap yellow.
42 min: Another rare chance goes to waste for Brighton after Mitoma gets the better of Walker and squares the ball. Neither Welbeck nor Rutter can get to it before its cleared. Brighton have upped their game considerably in the past 10 minutes are are very much back in this match.
40 min: City are awarded a throw-in halfway inside their own half, despite the ball not actually going out of play. Danny Welbeck voices his displeasure to no avail and play resumes.
38 min: Rico Lewis is booked for a foul on Welbeck and Brighton have a free-kick about 30 yards from the City goal. Welbeck, the Brighton skipper, sends the ball fizzing narrowly wide of the right post.
35 min: Brighton have their first chance of note, Gvardiol sliding to block Welbeck’s shot after the striker had beaten Kovacic for pace and been slipped in by Mitoma. The ball actually hits Gvardiol’s arm but as he was sliding but there’s no way it was a handball, even in these strange times.
34 min: Ederson gets the ball launched upfield and sends it into the stand on the right of the pitch. That’s a very rare miskick from him.
32 min: Manchester City corner. Gundogan’s delivery towards the far post sails into the gloves of Bart Verbruggen.
29 min: Nunes plays the ball inside to Kovacic, who shapes to shoot from distance, thinks better of it and plays a low pass forward to Lewis. Moments later, the ball wends its way back to Kovacic and this time he has a pop, which Verbruggen saves. City are in a state of almost total dominance and Brighton are on the ropes.
27 min: Matheus Nunes is penalised for a blatant technical foul on Veltman but avoids a booking.
26 min: Another sweeping City move ends with Haaland forcing Verbruggen into a smart save at his near post with a powerfully struck right-footed effort.
25 min: That was a beautifully weighted pass from Kovacic but Haaland needed the strength of an ox and two bites of the cherry to hold off two Brighton defenders and beat Verbruggen.
GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Man City (Haaland 23)
City lead. Kovacic plays Haaland in behind and his shot on goal is only half-blocked by Verbruggen but doesn’t make it into the goal. Under pressure from Jean Paul van Hecke, Haaland scores at the second attempt, steamrollering his way past the prostrate keeper to prod the ball home off the underside of the bar.
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22 min: A Rutter cross from the left is too close to the City goal and Ederson claims comfortably before Welbeck can do any damage.
21 min: Jahmai Simpson-Pusey is playing in the middle of a back three when City are in possession and the 18-year-old hasn’t put a foot wrong thus far in his Premier League debut.
19 min: Yasin Ayari is is booked for dragging Phil Foden to the ground with both hands as the City man tried to escape upfield. He can have no complaints about that.
18 min: On the stretch trying to reach a cross from the left at the far post, Erling Haaland can only shin his effort high over the bar. City are getting on top.
17 min: Whatever about Mitoma v Walker, Estupinan v Savinho is already shaping up to be a very one-sided contest. As things stand, the Brazilian has the Brighton left-back on toast.
15 min: Bart Verbruggen gets down to deny Savinho with an outstretched leg as the City winger ran on to a Mateo Kovacic pass and bore down on his goal. Good save!
15 min: Mitoma tries to pick out a Georginio Rutter run in behind the City defence with a nicely weighted pass but the Frenchman is flagged for offside.
14 min: An attempted Savinho cross from the right towards the far post drifts just over the Brighton bar and lands on the roof of the net.
12 min: Veltman plays the ball in behind for Yasin Ayari to chase but City had pushed up. The Brighton midfielder is miles offside.
11 min: Past the 10-minute mark we go and we’ve yet to see a shot from any player on either side.
9 min: Nunes tries to take on Veltman again but gets no change from the Brighton defender and is forced backwards. Moments later, Savinho takes on and beats Pervis Estupinan out by the right touchline and gets to the byline but is unable to pick out a teammate with his pull-back.
8 min: Mitoma puts Walker under pressure as he tries to clear from the City right-back area but the ball goes out for a throw-in off Brighton’s Japanese winger.
7 min: Mateo Kovacic plays a ball over the top for Savinho to chase but puts far too much welly on his pass. Bart Verbruggen is quick out of his goal to claim the bouncing ball.
4 min: Danny Welbeck coughs up cheap possession to Walker in midfield and City advance upfield before giving the ball back to their hosts.
3 min: City ping the ball around at the back under a fairly energetic Brighton press. Kaoru Mitoma v Kyle Walker should prove one of this game’s more intriguing battles.
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2 min: Matheus Nunes gets the ball down to the byline for City but is prevented from crossing it by Joel Veltman. Brighton force the visitors backwards.
Brighton v Man City is go ...
1 min: City get the ball rolling in their fourth consecutive match away from home, their players wearing maroon shirts, shorts and socks.
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Remembrance: The players gather around the centre-circle as their managers lay wreaths ahead of Remembrance Sunday. The Last Post is played by buglers from the Salvation Army.
Not long now: The teams are in the tunnel, ready to be led out by match referee Sam Barrott. And out they go ...
Today’s Premier League results
Brentford 3-2 Bournemouth
Crystal Palace 0-2 Fulham
West Ham 0-0 Everton
Wolves 2-0 Southampton
Brighton v Manchester City (5.30pm GMT)
Liverpool v Aston Villa (8pm GMT)
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Those teams: Brighton make one change to the side that lost against Liverpool last weekend, with Simon Adingra coming in for Ferdi Kadoiglu, who is ruled out of today’s matchday squad along with Carlos Baleba and Lewis Dunk. Matt O’Riley and Joao Pedro are back from injured and numbered among the home side’s substitutes.
Pep Guardiola makes two changes to the team who lost to Sporting CP in midweek. Kyle Walker is in for Manuel Akanji, who went into the game carrying an injury and is only on the bench today. Teenage centre-back Jahmai Simpson-Pusey makes his Premier League debut, having started the game against Sporting. Bernardo Silva is on the bench today, along with Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake, while Ilkay Gundogan starts.
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Tonight’s match officials
Referee: Sam Barrott.
Assistants: Lee Betts and Steve Meredith.
Fourth official: Andy Davies.
VAR: Jarred Gillett.
Assistant VAR: Stuart Burt.
Brighton v Man City line-ups
Brighton: Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Julio, Estupinan; Hinshelwood, Ayari, Rutter; Adingra, Welbeck, Mitoma
Subs: Steele, Gruda, Pedro, Enciso, Moder, Baleba, Wieffer, Ferguson, O’Riley
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Simpson-Pusey, Gvardiol, Lewis; Kovacic, Gundogan, Nunes; Savinho, Haaland, Foden
Subs: Ortega, Ake, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Akanji, Wright, O’Reilly, McAtee, Wilson-Esbrand
Early team news
Without Adam Webster, Solly March, James Milner, Brighton are also sweating over the fitness of Yasin Ayari, Lewis Dunk and Yankuba Minteh, but could include Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley in today’s matchday squad after their respective spells on the sidelines.
With their Ballon d’Or winner Rodri out for the season and Oscar Bobb still recovering from a fractured leg, Pep Guardiola has other injury concerns to contend with as Jack Grealish, John Stones and Ruben Dias could all miss this evening’s game.
In better news for the champions, Kevin De Bruyne has been included in their past two matchday squads and got back on the grass for a few minutes during City’s midweek Champions League defeat at the hands of Sporting.
Premier League: Brighton v Manchester City
Manchester City travel to the south coast on the back of three consecutive defeats in three different competitions, the first time Pep Guardiola’s side has lost back-to-back-to-back games since 2018.
They face a Brighton side who have lost consecutive games against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and Premier League but Fabian Hurzeler wiull be confident his team can compete against champions who are shipping goals and looking uncharacteristically vulnerable.
Kick-off at the Amex Stadium is at 5.30pm but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.
