Brighton beat Manchester City 1-0 at the Etihad, Yasin Ayari scoring the winner, to climb to third and sit two points behind the Premier League leaders.
Brighton won at the Etihad for the first time in the Premier League. Yasin Ayari scored the only goal, and the win lifts them to third, two points behind leaders Manchester City.
It is City's second straight league defeat, after seven wins to open Enzo Maresca's tenure. The goal came from a mess: according to The Independent, Matheus Nunes failed to clear Diego Gomez's cross, Maxim De Cuyper centred and Ayari finished. It was the 13th goal City have conceded in their last six matches at the Etihad.
City had 21 shots. Bart Verbruggen saved from Nunes, Erling Haaland, Abdukodir Khusanov and Jeremy Doku, and tipped an Iliman Ndiaye effort onto the bar. Haaland's run of scoring in nine consecutive games ended. Maresca's verdict: "In this moment we are conceding silly goals."
The price tags tell the rest. The Independent put City's starting XI at about £750m and Brighton's at nearer £160m. Ayari cost £3.5m.
My take: 21 shots is volume, not quality. City had plenty of the first and Brighton had the one that counted. Hurzeler's side suffered, in his word, and stuck together. That is a plan, and it beat £750m.
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Sources
- Reaction: Hurzeler praises togetherness as Albion beat Man City, brightonandhovealbion.com
- Gallery: Albion win at the Etihad, brightonandhovealbion.com
- How Brighton outsmarted Man City to teach the Premier League a valuable lesson, The Independent
Meanwhile at the desk
Brighton banked £70m from Manchester United for Carlos Baleba this summer and kept Ayari, according to The Independent. Sell one, keep the other, beat the leaders. That is a clean bit of business.
A £750m starting XI against a £160m one, and the cheaper side won. I would like to hear the accounts explain that, but I suspect the pitch already has.
