Brighton responded emphatically to their midweek Carabao Cup elimination by beating Manchester City in the Premier League, handing Enzo Maresca’s team a second successive league loss.

Fabian Hurzeler’s side had led twice at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday before losing the cup tie on penalties. They produced another strong display on Saturday, however, protecting an early advantage to claim a notable win and move within two points of third-placed City.

Early Brighton breakthrough

1. Brighton took the lead after 11 minutes, aided by a costly error from City right-back Matheus Nunes. His attempted clearance went astray and dropped invitingly for Yasin Ayari, who finished from close distance.
2. City had an opportunity to equalise 10 minutes later when Iliman Ndiaye connected with Elliot Anderson’s delivery, but his header went wide of the target.
3. The Senegal forward then tested Bart Verbruggen with a near-post effort, although the Brighton goalkeeper was able to push it away.

Verbruggen keeps City out

Ndiaye remained City’s most threatening player after the break. The former Everton attacker broke through on goal and struck powerfully, only for Verbruggen to make an outstanding intervention and turn the ball onto the crossbar.

Verbruggen continued to frustrate the home side, producing another excellent save from Nunes. Erling Haaland also headed weakly, offering the goalkeeper a more routine stop.

Haaland received little meaningful supply throughout the contest, while Brighton might have increased their lead at the opposite end. Maxim de Cuyper fired over from 10 yards before forcing Gianluigi Donnarumma into a smart save with a header.

Those missed Brighton chances ultimately had no impact on the result, as Hurzeler’s team saw out the match for all three points and maintained their impressive opening to the campaign.