Manchester City 0-1 Brighton: Ayari and Verbruggen hand Seagulls a first

Three days earlier, on the same pitch, Brighton had gone out of the League Cup on penalties after a 2-2 draw. On Saturday, the Seagulls needed only eleven minutes to take their revenge. From a free kick, Lewis Dunk sent Diego Gómez away on the right, Matheus Nunes missed his challenge on the cross, the ball fell to Maxim De Cuyper and Yasin Ayari finished from close range.

Enzo Maresca, who left Marc Guéhi, Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden on the bench at kick-off, saw his side respond through Iliman Ndiaye. The Senegalese missed a clear header, then forced Bart Verbruggen into action. After the break, City pushed harder and harder: Ndiaye hit the woodwork, Erling Haaland went close from a corner, Nunes forced another save from the Dutch goalkeeper and Nico O'Reilly directed his late header too far across goal. Jack Hinshelwood could have killed off the contest at the other end. The score did not change again.

Twenty-one shots, seven saves, eight blocked efforts

City finished with 21 shots to 7, 19 of them inside the box, 8 corners to 2 and 62% of possession. Expected goals also favoured the hosts, 1.68 to 1.02, though not by a huge margin: Brighton had few shots, but their chances counted. The match cannot be boiled down to attack against defence.

The visitors' response can be read in two lines: 8 blocked shots and 7 saves by Verbruggen. Rúben Dias played 100 passes, Jérémy Doku completed 9 of 15 dribbles. Plenty of play, then, but too few clean strikes at the end of moves.

A ricochet, then a ball pushed in from close range

11th minute, Yasin Ayari, set up by De Cuyper: Gómez's cross escaped Nunes, the ball rebounded off De Cuyper and Ayari only had to finish from point-blank range. It was his only shot of the match.

Brighton's plan survived the storm

The turning point came early, but the win was secured after the hour, when Fabian Hürzeler had to accept a spell of suffering. He admitted as much himself, praising his defenders and his goalkeeper and explaining that his players stayed united. Maresca, for his part, spoke of a feeling identical to the one at Aston Villa: plenty of chances and no reward.

Our view: City did not lose on volume, but on the quality of their final actions, and on a missed challenge in the 11th minute. After seven wins to start the season, Maresca's side suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time under him. Brighton, for their part, confirmed that they can win without the ball.

Ndiaye carried City without finding a way through

Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal) was Manchester City's main threat until he went off in the 79th minute: 4 shots, 2 on target, 2 of 3 dribbles completed, a missed header, the woodwork and a shot into the side netting. SNA rating: 6.5. Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco), a starter in midfield, had no shot and made no key pass before giving way to Cherki in the 55th minute. SNA rating: 6.5. Jaouen Hadjam (Algeria) replaced Olivier Boscagli in the 64th minute and helped Brighton hold out, with 2 tackles and 3 of 5 duels won in 26 minutes. SNA rating: 6.5.

Brighton two points behind City

Brighton are third on 19 points, with the best goal difference of the top three (+17) and four wins in their last five league games. Manchester City remain second on 21 points, now behind Arsenal, who won at Anfield on Sunday and lead on 24 points.

City travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday 7 November. Brighton host Brentford the following day.

SNA player of the match: Bart Verbruggen

Seven saves, the most decisive of them to keep out Ndiaye's shot onto the woodwork: Bart Verbruggen protected the 1-0 lead through 79 minutes of mounting pressure. His rating, 9.5, is the highest of the match.