Man City lost their second consecutive game in the PL
Despite leading, City saw their lead capitulate
James Milner netted his first Brighton goal
Brajan Gruda's superbly taken late winner saw Brighton beat Manchester City 2-1 at the Amex Stadium.
Erling Haaland's 88th Premier League goal on his 100th appearance in the competition seemed to have set City on their way to victory on Sunday.
Instead, Pep Guardiola's team capitulated to a second successive defeat, as Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler's decision to throw on four substitutes around the hour mark paid off.
It was two of those changes that grabbed the goals for the Seagulls.
ALSO READ | Match Highlights
James Milner netted his first Brighton goal, becoming the Premier League's second-oldest goalscorer, as he converted a 67th-minute penalty following Matheus Nunes' handball.
Yankuba Minteh went close and Georginio Rutter tested James Trafford, before City's goalkeeper made a fantastic save to deny Jan Paul van Hecke as the visitors aimed to withstand a late onslaught.
However, Brighton's pressure told when Kaoru Mitoma played in Gruda, who coolly finished to cap a memorable victory.
Data Debrief: Familiar fears set in for City
After their mid-season collapse last term, Guardiola will not have envisioned his side starting this season with just three points from the first nine on offer.
Indeed, this is the first time City have lost two of their first three Premier League matches in a campaign since 2004-05. Only one team has ever lost two of their first three games and recovered to win the title – Manchester United in the inaugural 1992-93 campaign.
The visitors had 12 shots, but got only three of those on target. Brighton, on the other hand, hit the target seven times, despite being kept extremely quiet for the opening hour. In fact, City did not have a single shot on target in the second half, while they faced six shots on target themselves.
In a positive for City, Rodri started his first league game since suffering that serious knee injury against Arsenal in September 2024.
It is the first time Rodri has ended on the losing side in a Premier League match he started since City's 1-0 loss to Tottenham in February 2023, ending a 49-game unbeaten streak for the Spain international. Only Sol Campbell (56 in a row between 2002 and 2004) has made more consecutive starts without losing in the competition.
