Brighton and Hove achieved a remarkable comeback in their home match this Sunday for the third round of the Premier League. The home team initially fell behind when Erling Haaland scored in the 33rd minute of the first half. However, Brighton responded strongly after halftime with goals from James Milner at the 66th minute and Brajan Gruda at the 88th minute, converting a penalty and a well-placed shot, respectively.
Manchester City controlled 61% of possession throughout the match but were unable to convert that into a victory. Despite their dominance in ball control, they could not maintain the lead.
The standout player of the match was Brajan Gruda, who performed excellently, contributing one goal, completing three successful passes, and taking three shots at goal.
Erling Haaland also had an impressive performance for Manchester City, scoring one goal, making seven attempts on target, and successfully completing ten passes.
Brighton’s coach, Fabian Hürzeler, set up his team in a 4-5-1 formation with Bart Verbruggen in goal; Jöel Veltman, Jan van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, and Maxim De Cuyper in defense; Jack Hinshelwood, Carlos Baleba, Yankuba Minteh, Diego Gómez, and Kaoru Mitoma in midfield; and Danny Welbeck leading the attack.
Meanwhile, Manchester City, managed by Josep Guardiola, opted for a 4-5-1 alignment with James Trafford as the goalkeeper; Matheus Nunes, John Stones, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Rayan Ait Nouri in the defense; Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Tijjani Reijnders, and Omar Marmoush in the midfield; and Erling Haaland at the forefront of the attack.
Darren England officiated this exciting match at The Amex Stadium.
In their next fixtures, Brighton will visit Bournemouth, while Manchester City will host Manchester United. The Citizens will aim to bounce back with a strong performance in the upcoming Manchester Derby against their fierce rivals.
This victory puts Brighton at a total of four points in the league, placing them in the tenth position. Conversely, Manchester City remains with three points, currently sitting in twelfth place.
Substitutions for Brighton and Hove
59’ 2H – Jack Hinshelwood replaced by Yasin Ayari
60’ 2H – Danny Welbeck for Georginio Rutter, Carlos Baleba for James Milner, and Diego Gómez for Brajan Gruda
94’ 2H – Yankuba Minteh for Diego Coppola
Yellow Cards for Brighton and Hove:
15’ 1H Jan van Hecke (Unsporting behavior) and 31’ 2H Jöel Veltman (Unsporting behavior)
Substitutions for Manchester City
71’ 2H – Omar Marmoush for Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva for Nico O’Reilly
83’ 2H – Matheus Nunes for Rico Lewis and Abdukodir Khusanov for Rúben Dias
Yellow Cards for Manchester City:
17’ 2H Abdukodir Khusanov (Unsporting behavior) and 23’ 2H Rayan Ait Nouri (Unsporting behavior)