Brighton 2-1 Man City: Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley stun champions with late goals as Pep Guardiola loses fourth game in a row | Football News

by Junna Base November 9, 2024

Manchester City’s slip-up became a crisis as Brighton scored twice late in the space of five minutes to beat the champions 2-1 – handing City their fourth straight defeat for the first time under Pep Guardiola.

City came into the game with three consecutive defeats against Bournemouth, Tottenham and Sporting – but their problems appeared to be easing when the champions took the lead with 12 minutes remaining through Erling Haaland’s first-half strike.

But recently injured duo Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley – the latter on his delayed Premier League debut after an ankle problem stalled his summer move from Celtic – jumped off the bench and sent the Amex Stadium into raptures – leading City Not only did it cost points in the title race, but it also brought Fabian Hurzeler’s team into the top four for at least a few hours.

After dominating the early stages and taking the lead when Haaland broke through at the second attempt and overtook Bart Verbruggen, City took their foot off the gas after the 30th minute, allowing Brighton to get back into the game.

The Seagulls missed six big chances in the second half – a total of 1.43 expected goals – as Guardiola’s side got lucky while on the ropes.

Ederson had to make a good save from Jack Hinshelwood’s header, while he also canceled out a one-on-one chance for Kaoru Mitoma. Georginio Rutter missed a good chance with his head, while his substitute Pedro missed the goal after a pass over the top.

But Brighton’s pressure finally made itself felt when Danny Welbeck intercepted a cross from the left, leading to a scramble in the goal area. Pedro showed more initiative than the City defenders and shot the ball into the goal from close range.

The Brighton goalscorer then turned provider five minutes later when he laid the ball for the onrushing O’Riley, who shot the ball into the goal in a one-on-one situation.

Guardiola could only sit back in his chair as the score moved away from City. The champions had substituted Kevin De Bruyne before Brighton’s two goals and the Belgian, clearly unfit, shot narrowly wide of the post shortly before the end.

Fellow substitute Bernardo Silva fired another effort past the far post while Josko Gvardiol headed wide late on as Brighton held onto the ball in nine minutes of stoppage time.

City, meanwhile, dropped further points in the title race and Guardiola and Haaland’s frustration after the game said it all…

What a comeback! Brighton’s two goals in five minutes

“One of Guardiola’s worst performances”

Jamie Redknapp from Sky Sports:

“Four bad results, the second half, that’s one of the worst halves of football I’ve ever seen from a Pep Guardiola team, they were pathetic, they didn’t defend, they didn’t win individual battles or get the ball forward at times played.”

“In the first half they were excellent, the problem was that they should have been leading 3-0, but in the second half when Hurzeler made the changes there was only one team.”

“And once the game started running away from you, then look at the characters: who will overcome this challenge and win the ball when you need it most? Who will calm this team down? There was no one who could do it.” Do it.

“They looked like a bunch of strangers and the goals they conceded summed it up: from Man City’s point of view, they were really bad goals.”

“But full credit goes to Brighton.”

Pep: I won’t back down from the challenge

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola:

“Today we played really well in the first half, especially considering the opponent and our performance. We couldn’t finish it, but in the Premier League it’s never finished.”

“We couldn’t maintain the consistency of our game, our intensity, our pressing and our aggressiveness for 90 minutes. We couldn’t be more aggressive in these areas in the second half. In the end they scored the goals.”

“In certain moments we cannot continue for long. But I’m pretty sure that when the players come back, we can get some individual qualities out of the team and we will be back.”

“It [losing four games in a row] That always happens once in a lifetime, right? We lost two Premier League games, that’s the point. We have to change and get better to win. We have to be in the position we are in the table. Hopefully the players will come back.

“Usually some people lose games. It’s always the first time in life. This is my challenge, our challenge. I want to face her. I will not resign, more than ever I want to. We want to analyze the fact of how we play. There are a lot of positive things in the game we lost and I’ll be the first to say I don’t like it.

Hurzeler: Brighton has shown that we can beat the establishment

Brighton Head coach Fabian Hurzeler:

“It’s always important to have a big squad, one where you can make substitutions where the players can make a difference. I’m happy for Joao and Matt about this effect. They worked hard in rehab.”

“Unfortunately a win against Man City only brings three points. The club should be happy after this game and full of confidence and belief that they can beat anyone – that they can beat the establishment.”

“We played against Liverpool and Man City, there were four halves but we only played two. At Liverpool we weren’t good enough or intense enough to compete with the establishment.”