Goals from substitutes James Milner and Brajan Gruda secured a stunning 2–1 comeback victory for Brighton and Hove Albion against Manchester City at the Amex Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Erling Haaland, who was marking his 100th Premier League appearance, was the focal point of the first half on the south coast. The Norwegian was surprisingly wasteful as he spurned three promising opportunities before the half-hour mark, but his customary goal eventually arrived before the break.
Omar Marmoush poked the ball towards City’s chief marksman in the penalty area, who casually stroked beyond the helpless Bart Verbruggen from close range. An 88th Premier League strike moved him nine clear of Alan Shearer for most goals after a century of outings in the competition.
City had James Trafford to thank for their half-time lead, however, with the summer recruit producing an excellent save to thwart Kaoru Mitoma prior to Haaland’s opener. While not tested regularly during the opening period, the 22-year-old’s impressive reflexes denied the Seagulls an early lead and provided a much-needed confidence boost for the goalkeeper after last week’s nightmare against Tottenham Hotspur.
A quadruple substitution on the hour mark helped energise the home side after an uninspiring first half and Brighton didn’t have to wait long for an equaliser. Matheus Nunes was penalised for a clear-cut handball inside the penalty area and ex-City midfielder Milner used all his experience to guide his spot kick into the bottom corner.
Yankuba Minteh, who had stung Trafford’s palms before the equaliser, came close to completing the comeback for Brighton as he fired just wide of the post, with City desperate to reassert themselves in the closing stages following the resurgence of the home team.
But the Cityzens couldn’t build any momentum in the dying embers and found themselves under constant Brighton pressure, with Gruda keeping his composure to round Trafford and net the winner for the Seagulls as Guardiola’s side slipped to a second straight defeat.
Man City Player Ratings vs. Brighton (4-1-4-1)
Subs not used: Ederson (GK), Manuel Akanji, Nathan Aké, İlkay Gündoğan, Nico González.
Man City Player of the Match: Erling Haaland
Overall Player of the Match: Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton)
Brighton (4-3-3): Bart Verbruggen; Joël Veltman, Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Maxim De Cuyper; Carlos Baleba, Diego Gómez, Jack Hinshelwood; Yankuba Minteh, Danny Welbeck, Kaoru Mitoma.
Subs: Jason Steele (GK), Diego Coppola, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Olivier Boscagli, James Milner, Georginio Rutter, Matt O’Riley, Yasin Ayari, Brajan Gruda.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City Player Ratings vs. Brighton: Seagulls Spoil Haaland’s Milestone in 2–1 Defeat.
