Brighton & Hove Albion 2 – 1 Manchester City
Erling Haaland scored to mark a special milestone, but it wasn’t enough to secure victory for him or Manchester City. In the second half, Brighton & Hove Albion staged a remarkable comeback to claim a memorable win.
On Sunday, City fell 2-1 at Brighton’s home in a Premier League clash. After James Milner equalized from the penalty spot, it was Bryan Gruda who sealed the joy for the hosts.
This marks City’s fifth loss in their last six matches against Brighton, including three consecutive defeats at the Amex Stadium.
City started the season strongly with a 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, but followed it with defeats at home to Tottenham Hotspur and now away to Brighton. After three matches, Pep Guardiola’s side sits 12th with just three points.
Brighton, winless in their previous two matches, came under early pressure from City. In the 34th minute, City took the lead. Inside the box, Omar Marmoush slid the ball past a defender’s legs to Haaland, who calmly finished with a left-footed shot.
In his 100th Premier League match, Haaland has now scored 88 goals and contributed 17 assists for City. No player has scored more goals in their first 100 Premier League appearances.
City’s attacking momentum slowed after the first half. In the 67th minute, they conceded. Brighton earned a penalty when the ball struck City’s Portuguese midfielder Matheus Nunes’ hand in the box, and Milner converted to equalize.
At 39 years and 239 days, Milner became the oldest Premier League player to score a penalty, against James Trafford, whose Premier League debut came one month before Milner’s in 2002.
Four minutes later, Brighton nearly took the lead with a curling shot from Yankuba that went just wide.
City goalkeeper Trafford, criticized for a recent blunder against Tottenham, made an excellent save in the 88th minute, but 48 seconds later, he couldn’t stop Bryan Gruda, who took a clever pass from Mitoma, dribbled past Trafford and a defender, and slotted home the winner.
Despite seven minutes of added time, City couldn’t mount a comeback, and Brighton celebrated a hard-fought 2-1 victory.
