Brighton beat Manchester City 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Yasin Ayari scored the only goal early in the game, and it gave Brighton their first ever win at City’s home ground.
It was City’s second Premier League defeat in a row. Enzo Maresca’s team had won their first seven league games of the season.
An early goal and a long wait
The goal came after about ten minutes. Lewis Dunk took a free kick and sent Diego Gómez down the right. Gómez played a low cross, Matheus Nunes could not clear it, and the ball came off Maxim De Cuyper into the path of Ayari. He finished from close range.
After that, City had most of the ball and most of the chances. Iliman Ndiaye headed wide from a good position and later saw a powerful shot tipped onto the post by Bart Verbruggen. The Brighton goalkeeper made seven saves in all, and one of the best came in the second half when he stopped Nunes from close range.
Revenge after the cup
The two teams had already met at the Etihad earlier in the week in the Carabao Cup. That game finished 2-2 and City went through on penalties. Fabian Hürzeler had spoken before Saturday about facing City twice in four days, and this time his team got the result.
“It means a lot for the team and for the club,” Hürzeler said after the game. He also said his players won it because they believed they could.
Maresca said: “We did everything to win the game.” He added that it was “a defeat we need to analyze and move on” from.
What it means for the table
After Saturday, City had 21 points from nine games. Arsenal also had 21 points with a game in hand, and on Sunday they won 1-0 at Anfield to go top on 24.
The win took Brighton up to third on 19 points. They have won six of their nine league games.
Our take
Brighton had never won at the Etihad before this weekend, and only days earlier they went out of the cup there. This time they scored early, defended well, and had a goalkeeper in top form whenever City got through.
For City, two defeats in a row after seven straight wins is a strange turn. They are still creating chances, but they are not taking them. With Arsenal now three points clear, Maresca will want a quick answer.
Can Brighton stay in the top three, or will the big clubs pull away? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Yasin Ayari by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), Fabian Hürzeler by Timmy96 (CC0), Etihad Stadium by Hassocks5489 (CC0).
