Key stats
- Brighton & Hove Albion have kept a clean sheet in six of their nine games, more than any other in the Premier League this season.
- Brighton & Hove Albion claimed their first-ever away victory against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
- Manchester City have attempted 21 shots in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premier League this season.
Highlights
Analysis
Brighton withstood heavy pressure but put on an excellent defensive display en route to a hard-fought victory at the Etihad.
Match report
These sides were already well acquainted with each other after a midweek meeting in the Carabao Cup, so there was little by way of a feeling-out process in the opening stages here.
It was surprising though to see that it was Brighton taking the game to City, and their early endeavour was rewarded after just 11 minutes when Maxim De Cuyper kept Diego Gomez’s cross alive, and Yasin Ayari was on hand to prod home the opener.
City were never likely to take that lying down and ought to have hit back 10 minutes later when Iliman Ndiaye was left unmarked inside the Brighton box but could only head inches wide of the target.
The same man came close again not too long after, when one of his customary mazy runs culminated in him squeezing between two Seagulls defenders and firing an effort straight into the hands of a grateful Bart Verbruggen.
Follow the Premier League with Flashscore
From reports and analysis to all the big breaking news and opinion, Flashscore is your one-stop shop to keep up with all the drama from the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Top stories:
• Man City suffer shock home Premier League defeat as Brighton impress again
• 'We've got to move forward': Carrick expects Man Utd stay despite Chelsea loss
• Subscribe to Football Weekender and make the most of your football weekend!
The Brighton stopper had Lewis Dunk to thank for not picking the ball out of the back of his net before the break as, after some terrific wing work from Jeremy Doku saw him tee up Erling Haaland, a terrific block from Dunk denied the Norwegian a certain goal.
Brighton’s skipper was at it again before the break too, producing another fine block to once more deny Haaland, who was beginning to cut a frustrated figure.
Enzo Maresca’s men were almost left to rue those misses within five minutes of the restart when, after being teed up perfectly by Ayari, the unmarked De Cuyper wildly blazed over at the far post.
Introducing Rayan Cherki from the bench was an admission from Maresca that things weren’t quite working for his side, and almost made an immediate impact when he found Enzo Fernandez inside the area before the Argentine dragged a left-footed effort narrowly wide.
And even when City did manage to get an effort on target through Matheus Nunes, Verbruggen was on hand to produce a fine stop to keep him at bay.
It wasn’t for want of trying that City couldn’t get back into the game, as Maresca made yet another late attacking change in bringing on Phil Foden for Josko Gvardiol, but no matter how many balls the hosts slung into the area, they couldn’t get one to drop for them.
Their quest for an equaliser ultimately proved unsuccessful as they slumped to a first Premier League defeat in a Saturday 3pm kick-off since October 2021, while three points for Brighton are another high point in their best-ever Premier League start.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion)
