Manchester City earned a routine 4-0 win over Brighton on Thursday night to stay in control of the Premier League title race.
Pep Guardiola’s side lost sight of a three-goal lead at the break, with Phil Foden’s brace adding to Kevin De Bruyne’s earlier fantastic diving header.
Julian Alvarez’s strike added some extra sparkle to the second half as Man City moved to within a point of leaders Arsenal with a game lead.
How the game developed
With Arsenal beating Chelsea and Liverpool suffering defeat in the Merseyside derby, the pressure was on the reigning champions to secure victory on the south coast. They got off to a bright start to the game and enjoyed most of the possession, but it was Brighton’s Danny Welbeck who made Ederson’s first save of the night with his tame long-range shot.
However, it didn’t take long for City to assert their territorial dominance and it was De Bruyne who put them ahead after 17 minutes with a remarkable effort. Kyle Walker’s cross found the midfielder in the penalty area and his brilliant diving header flew over Jason Steele’s outstretched glove.
It took just eight minutes for City to double their lead and there was some controversy surrounding Foden’s performance. The England international won a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area after slipping without making contact, and his subsequent shot took a heavy deflection off Pascal Gross on its way into the net.
But City’s third goal was not in dispute as Foden grabbed his brace and finished the game before half-time. Brighton were caught playing from the back and Bernardo Silva’s interception fell at the feet of the 23-year-old before he curled an effortless shot into the far corner in the 34th minute.
Brighton felt they should have been awarded a penalty just a minute after the restart when Gross went down after contact with Rodri, but the referee and VAR did not feel it was enough to award a penalty.
Just after the hour, City finally scored their fourth goal and the home side were once again frustrated by the officials. After colliding with Steele, the ball appeared to touch Walker’s hand on its way to Alvarez, with the Argentine firing the ball into the goal from close range. Referee Jarred Gillett and VAR official John Brooks remained unfazed by the incident.
Brighton’s anger at the referees reached its peak in the 70th minute when Joao Pedro appeared to be brought down in the penalty area by Josko Gvardiol. Once again the protest fell on deaf ears.
But the hosts were unable to reduce the deficit until the final minutes and City secured an incredibly comfortable – and decisive – win at the Amex.
Goalkeeper: Jason Steele – 5/10 – He was clearly instructed to play from the back at all costs and despite his precise passing, he often caused his teammates problems.
RB: Joel Veltman – 5/10 – A yellow card for knocking the ball away as frustration mounted and the Dutchman endured a difficult evening. Hooked on break.
CB: Jan Paul van Hecke – 5/10 – Made some good defensive attempts but struggled to cope with Man City’s movement in the final third.
CB: Lewis Dunk – 5/10 – Some loose touches instilled little confidence in defense and he was careless in possession when playing under pressure.
LB: Valentin Barco – 4/10 – The youngster’s unnecessary pass was intercepted for Man City’s third half and he often struggled defensively against Walker. A baptism of fire on his first start in the Premier League.
CM: Carlos Baleba – 5/10 – Showed his quality in more advanced positions but was bypassed far too easily by Man City’s midfield. Booked for a cynical foul in the second half.
CM: Jakub Moder – 6/10 – Used the hard yards in the engine room and did his best to quell Man City’s attacking threats.
AM: Pascal Gross – 5/10 – It was unfortunate that he deflected Foden’s free-kick past Steele, but as Brighton’s main creator he did little to positively influence the game.
AM: Adam Lallana – 5/10 – Apart from a clever turn by Cruyff in midfield, the former Liverpool player remained anonymous. Unsurprisingly, he was withdrawn at half-time.
ST: Danny Welbeck – 6/10 – Tried his best with very limited use and was the liveliest of the forward units.
ST: Joao Pedro – 6/10 – There were signs of life in the second half and with a clever run they could have won a penalty. I missed a sitter late.
Substitute
SUB: Simon Adingra (46′ for Lallana) – 6/10
SUB: Odel Offiah (46′ for Veltman) – 6/10
SUB: Igor (56′ for Moder) – 7/10
SUB: Mark O’Mahony (75′ for Welbeck) – 6/10
Substitutes not used: Bart Verbruggen (TW), Adam Webster, Facundo Buonanotte, Julio Enciso and Ansu Fati.
Manager
Roberto De Zerbi – 3/10 – A suicidal approach from the Italian as Brighton were repeatedly targeted when he tried to play out from the back. You just can’t play like that against the champions and expect to get away unscathed.
TW: Ederson – 6/10 – Aside from occasional sweeping, he was rarely involved.
RB: Kyle Walker – 8/10 – Tested Barco with his frequent flying runs down the right flank, setting up De Bruyne’s opener and Alvarez’s strike.
CB: Manuel Akanji – 7/10 – Was rarely tested by Brighton’s attacking line and played well in defense.
CB: Nathan Ake – 7/10 – A half-chance was spurned before Man City’s opener, but in the end it hardly mattered. A very quiet evening for the Dutchman on defense.
LB: If Gvardiol – 6/10 – He stepped up when needed, but was often not needed in attack. Might have been penalized for bringing down Pedro in the penalty area.
CM: Rodri – 6/10 – A few bad passes could have put Man City in trouble if Brighton had been more clinical. The Spaniard could have missed a penalty shortly after the break.
CM: Matthew Kovacic – 7/10 – Came forward convincingly from midfield and created dynamism in the central areas.
RM: Bernardo Silva – 7/10 – A subtle performance from the Portuguese, who also kept the ball moving in the final third.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne – 8/10 – A fantastic first Premier League header from the Belgian, who glided effortlessly across the Amex turf. Another influential outing.
LM: Phil Foden – 9/10 – Another majestic performance from Foden, who scored two goals in the first half. The first was somewhat lucky, but the second was typically graceful.
ST: Julian Alvarez – 7/10 – Some really good runs beyond the Brighton backline and his persistence paid off as he ended his goal drought in the second half.
Substitute
SUB: Jack Grealish (71′ for Foden) – 6/10
SUB: Matheus Nunes (71′ for De Bruyne) – 6/10
SUB: Jeremy Doku (78′ for Silva) – 6/10
SUB: Rico Lewis (78′ for Walker) – 6/10
Substitute: Sergio Gomez (78th for Rodri) – 6/10
Unused Susb: Stefan Ortega (GK), John Stones, Ruben Dias, Oscar Bobb.
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 8/10 – A sensational performance from his team, who repeatedly pushed Brighton into a corner and punished their risky tactics. A possible banana peel attachment looked so easy.