Manchester City 1 Brighton 2: City player ratings as the champions run out of steam at the Amex | OneFootball

Manchester City 1 (Erling Haaland 23′)

Brighton 2 (Joao Pedro 78′, Matt O’Riley 83′)

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City went down 2-1 to Brighton at the Amex Stadium. It was a tale of two halves for the champions as they dominated the first half and Fabian Hurzeler’s side dominated the second. The result was a fair result based on the balance of play over the two halves.

The biggest concern pre-game came when Jeremy Doku missed out on selection in the matchday squad. It does appear that the champions have picked up yet another injury concern. What Doku’s injury has caused is a lack of legs in the City squad. The City player ratings reflect that as the game wore on.

First half

The game kicked off with Manchester City needing a win against a quality Brighton side. A feature of the opening 15 minutes was how calm and poised Pep Guardiola’s side were in possession. It was clear that the world champions were in a confident mood despite dropping their past three games.

City’s first chance of the game game in the 15th minute. A crisp passing move played in Savinho. But the Brazilian winger was denied his first goal for Manchester City by a fine save by Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen.

Finally, Manchester City’s dominance was rewarded with the opening goal in the 23rd minute. Brighton gave away possession cheaply in midfield. Mateo Kovacic seized on the opportunity and played through Erling Haaland. City’s number 9 saw his first effort well saved by Bart Verbruggen. But he reacted quickly to the rebound to give his team a well-deserved lead.

City almost doubled their lead less than three minutes later. A swift Manchester City move saw Phil Foden play in Erling Haaland. But his effort with his right foot was saved onto the post by Bart Verbruggen.

Manchester City’s next chance came in the 31st minute. A stinging effort from Mateo Kovacic was well-saved once again by Verbruggen. But it was clear that Pep Guardiola’s side were up for today’s game as they pressed for a second goal.

It took until the 35th minute for Brighton to finally create their first real opportunity of the match. A long ball over the top of Kyle Walker played in Kauro Mitoma. The Japanese international played in Danny Welbeck who saw his shot well blocked by Josko Gvardiol. There was a brief VAR check for a potential handball by Gvardiol but that was never a penalty. But Manchester City had been warned as the hosts began to come to life.

The remainder of the first half passed by without any major drama. At half-time, Manchester City went in with a 1-nil lead. That was a fair reward for a solid first half from Pep Guardiola’s side.

Second half

The biggest question as the second half kicked off was whether Manchester City would continue their dominance or whether the hosts would raise their game.

The answer was apparent in the opening 6 minutes of the second half. Brighton had more energy and dominated the early possession. Their best chance came in the 51st minute. A nice move saw Pervis Estupiñán float in a teasing cross from the left wing. Jack Hinshelwood met the cross with a powerful header but Ederson made a fine save to preserve City’s lead.

After Brighton’s bright opening to the second half Manchester City began to regain control of proceedings. In the 62nd minute, Savinho curled an effort wide of the far post as he continued to seek his first goal for Manchester City.

Three minutes later Brighton had another chance to equalise. A fine piece of play from Kauro Mitoma set up Estupiñán for another cross. His fine ball was met by Georginio Rutter whose header flew over the bar.

A few moments of madness from Kyle Walker saw the hosts presented with two more chances. The pick of the chances fell to Joao Pedro who put his effort wide after being played through.

Finally, Brighton got their equaliser in the 78th minute. A goal-mouth scramble saw Joao Pedro equalise from close range. In truth, Brighton deserved their equaliser after a period of sustained pressure.

It gets worse for Manchester City 5 minutes later. A flowing Brighton move carved through the City defence. Joao Pedro played through Matt O’Riley and he calmly slotted home to give Brighton the lead. It was shades of City’s defeat to Sporting on Tuesday evening.

Manchester City responded in their chase for an equaliser. Kevin De Bruyne curled an effort just wide from the edge of the area in the 89th minute.

City kept pressing and Phil Foden flashed an effort just wide in the 91st minute. Things were getting desperate for the champions in stoppage time.

Josko Gvardiol then flashed a header wide from a Kyle Walker cross in the 95th minute. You did get the sense that it wasn’t going to be City’s day when the Croatian’s header went wide of the target.

Brighton held on to claim a deserved 2-1 win at the Amex Stadium.

Summary

After a brilliant first-half performance, Manchester City ran out of legs in the second half. Brighton’s substitutes made all the difference as Pep Guardiola’s side ran out of gas. It’s a common theme in City’s recent performances, and a solution to it is yet to be found.

Here are the City player ratings from the champion’s fourth consecutive defeat.

City player ratings

Ederson-6.5/10: Made one stunning save in the second half. But he is being let down by his defence and could do little about either of Brighton’s goals.

Rico Lewis-6/10: Played at left-back and was good in the first half and faded out of the game in the second.

Kyle Walker-4/10: For 60 minutes Walker was good. He then made several errors and looked to run out of legs. Once his game slipped City stumbled alongside their captain.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey-7/10: An excellent performance from Simpson-Pusey. Unfortunately for him, he’s been let down by his more experienced teammates in his first two starts for the club.

Josko Gvardiol-6/10: Played as a centre-back and was calm and composed for the first hour. But as the game wore on his performance dipped as City buckled.

Mateo Kovacic-7.5/10: Manchester City’s man-of-the-match for me. Did all he could and set up Haaland’s goal with an exquisite piece of midfield play.

Ilkay Gundogan-7/10: His best performance since returning to Manchester City. He was good in possession and looked more like the Gundogan we all know.

Savinho-6.5/10: He had his moments, but either his final delivery or finishing was just off. A bright display that just lacked any end product.

Phil Foden-5/10: Foden couldn’t get into the game. Manchester City needed him today and he wasn’t at his best.

Matheus Nunes-4/10: Gave away the ball too often and wasn’t as threatening as recent games. Also was guilty of giving away cheap fouls too often.

Erling Haaland-7/10: A better all-around performance from Haaland. Scored City’s goal and got involved in the play more. Unfortunately his service dried up in the second half.

Substitutes

Bernardo Silva-6/10: Came on in the second half but he looks tired.

Kevin De Bruyne-6/10: Had some moments but not as many as he would’ve liked.