Brighton 2-1 Manchester City: Seagulls complete comeback to defeat Manchester City | OneFootball

Brighton made it back-to-back wins at the AMEX Stadium against Manchester City in the Premier League as they came from a goal behind to defeat Pep Guardiola’s side.

After a flurry of chances in the first half, Erling Haaland eventually broke the deadlock in the 34th minute to hand City a thoroughly deserved lead.

Four changes from the bench saw the game shift as Brighton equalised in the 64th minute through James Milner, who converted a penalty that was awarded for a handball against Matheus Nunes.

The Seagulls then won the match in the 89th minute through Brajan Gruda who kept his cool to round the goalkeeper and slot the ball home.

As it happened

Pep Guardiola’s side traveled to the South Coast hoping to bounce back from their concerning 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, whilst Brighton were searching for their first win of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.

City dominated the opening exchanges with their first chance coming in the 9th minute. Erling Haaland raced in on goal but the Norwegian uncharacteristically scuffed his effort straight at Bart Verbruggen.

The home side’s only chance in the first half came on the break when Danny Welbeck poked a ball through for Kaoru Mitoma. The Japanese winger managed to get a low strike off at goal but James Trafford was up to the task and tipped the shot past the post.

City increased the pressure on The Seagulls but were unable to break the deadlock as Haaland missed two opportunities in quick succession. After dragging a shot wide of the post, the striker then rose highest to meet Rayan Aït-Nouri’s clipped cross to the back post but was denied by a brilliant save on the line by Verbruggen.

Inevitably though, Haaland marked his 100th Premier League appearance with a goal. Marmoush somehow prodded the ball into his path in a packed penalty area, and this time he made no mistake, finding the bottom-right corner to hand City the lead.

City picked up where they left off in the second half and came inches away from doubling their lead on the hour mark. With the outside of his foot, Marmoush innovatively found Oscar Bobb inside the box but his outstretched leg could only guide the ball agonisingly past the post.

Brighton’s slow start sparked a quadruple change from the bench. Fabian Hürzeler brought on James Milner, Yasin Ayari, Brajan Gruda, and Georginio Rutter.

His substitutions were inspired, triggering an instant reaction on the pitch. A swift counter-attack saw Minteh force Trafford to parry his shot away for a corner.

In the 64th minute, the momentum had fully swung in Brighton’s favour as they were awarded a penalty. A floated free-kick reached Lewis Dunk at the back post and his volley struck the raised arm of Nunes. The spot kick was confirmed after a VAR check and Milner stepped up against his old side to equalise, becoming the second oldest goalscorer in Premier League history.

Brighton were in the ascendancy and were pushing for a winner. Minteh had a curling effort fly narrowly past the post, whilst Trafford produced a fantastic save to stop Jan Paul van Hecke’s hooked effort in the 89th minute.

There remained time for another big moment in the match and it was Brighton who took their chance to snatch all three points. With City’s defence nowhere to be found, Mitoma fed Gruda who raced in on goal. The German kept his composure and cut back on his right foot, taking Trafford and Aït-Nouri out of the picture in the process, before passing the ball into an empty net.

The lineups

BHA: Verbruggen; De Cuyper, Dunk, Van Hecke, Veltman; Hinshelwood, Baleba; Mitoma, Gómez, Minteh; Welbeck