Manchester City’s commanding performance against Brighton at the Amex on Thursday was a microcosm of their perceived control of this season’s Premier League title race.
Phil Foden scored twice in an eight-minute span and Man City ran away from the south coast as 4-0 winners, controlling every single aspect of the match as the hosts never truly presented any danger to the three points.
City still have work to do in the title race across the final five matches of the season, but it all has a feeling of inevitability to it. They sit a point behind Arsenal at the top of the standings, but hold a game in hand, thus controlling their own destiny.
Adding to the midweek tally was Kevin De Bruyne, who scored his first career headed goal in Premier League play, and Julian Alvarez, who performed admirably in place of an injured Erling Haaland yet again. Not only did the lopsided scoreline move Man City slightly closer to the top of the Premier League table, but it also put a significant dent into Arsenal’s goal differential advantage now sitting at eight, potentially coming into play in the title race with the margins so thin.
The Sporting News followied the Brighton vs Man City match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
Man City vs Brighton final score
Score
Goalscorers
Man City
4
De Bruyne (17′),
Foden (26′, 33′),
Alvarez (62′)
Brighton
0
–
Kickoff: 8 p.m. local (3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT)
Location: American Express Stadium (Brighton, England)
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Starting lineups:
Brighton (4-2-3-1, right to left): Steele (GK) — Veltman (Offiah, 46′), Van Hecke, Dunk, Barco — Baleba, Moder (Igor, 57′) — Pedro, Gross, Lallana (Adingra, 46′) — Welbeck (O’Mahony, 75′).
Man City (4-2-3-1, right to left): Ederson (GK) — Walker (R. Lewis, 79′), Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol — Rodri (S. Gomez, 79′), Kovacic — Foden (Grealish, 72′), De Bruyne (Nunes, 72′), Silva (Doku, 78′) — Alvarez.
Man City vs Brighton stats
Brighton
Stat
Man City
7
Shots
14
3
Shots on target
6
36%
Possession
64%
365
Passes
705
4
Corners
4
10
Fouls
3
2
Yellow cards
0
Man City vs Brighton live updates, highlights, commentary
FULLTIME: Brighton 0-4 Man City
It didn’t feel like the typical attacking onslaught Man City have proven capable of, but in the end, the scoreline reflects one. It was an efficient evening for the defending champions, who scored four goals on a relatively mediocre shot total of 13. They went ahead early on a succession of solid moves forward, and then were ruthless in punishing Brighton’s errors playing out of the back.
Brighton were never up for this task, and Man City take another late step towards what increasingly feels like an inevitable fourth straight Premier League title. There’s still time to slip up of course, but given the club’s exceptional end-of-season record under Guardiola, it’s hard to imagine them blowing this advantage. Another sumptuous performance without talisman Erling Haaland!
Man City vs Brighton: Second Half
90+4 min: Chance, Man City! A quality save by Jason Steele as he sticks his left leg out and stops an effort by Jeremy Doku on the counter!
85th min: Chance, Brighton! Joao Pedro misses from close range with Brighton’s best chance of the match! It’s an exceptional cross from Simon Adingra basically on the end-line, and he cuts it back to Pedro at the near post, but the Brighton striker puts it wide and the clean sheet for Man City survives a close shave.
77th min: Carlos Baleba is shown a yellow card for clearly pulling back Matheus Nunes in midfield, the second Brighton player logged in the referees book.
Pep Guardiola readies another line of substitutions, as Jeremy Doku, Rico Lewis, and Sergio Gomez all enter the match. Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, and Rodri all make way.
75th min: Danny Welbeck does very well to meander through the Man City defensive line on the ball, but he gets the finish all wrong, skying a shot well high as he’s leaning back while putting his foot through the ball. It’s his final action of the match, withdrawn in favour of young forward Mark O’Mahony.
70th min: Seated on the turf near the right post, Joao Pedro has his arms in the air begging for a penalty, but the referee has no interest in obliging. He was bundled over from behind by Josko Gvardiol, and probably has a legitimate gripe, but nothing is given by the official. It would have been a somewhat soft yet reasonable decision had Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot.
With the three points more than secure, Pep Guardiola rotates his squad to protect some players and get others a bit of a run. Matheus Nunes will come on, and so too will Jack Grealish. The former gets Guardiola’s trademark set of animated instructions on the touchline before entering. Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne, two very important players for the stretch run, are withdrawn.
64th min: GOAL! MAN CITY! Moments after missing, Julian Alvarez now has his goal and Man City’s fourth! Ederson pings a monstrous long-ball that falls into the path of Kyle Walker nearly three-quarters of the way up the pitch, and his first touch forces Jason Steele to come off his line and challenge the City full-back.
Steele smothers the chance as Walker comes sliding in awkwardly, but the ball pops right to Alvarez who scuffs a slow-roller over the line through the trailing defenders! The goal survives a quick VAR check for handball, and Man City continue to run away with the final score!
HIGHLIGHT: Watch Julian Alvarez goal in USA | Watch in UK | Watch in Canada
60th min: Chance, Man City! Brighton give it away while playing out of the back yet again, and Julian Alvarez blazes a long-range curler just inches over the crossbar! That’s agonizingly close to a fourth for Man City, as Brighton continue to put themselves in danger of their own accord.
54th min: Ederson does very well to come off his line and close down Joao Pedro who benefitted from a fortunate bounce as the ball fell right into his lap at pace down the left edge of the penalty area and threatened to have an opening for a shot. In the end, the offside flag goes up to end the chance, a repeated occurrence for Brighton to begin this second half.
Brighton make another substitution as Jakob Moder is withdrawn and replaced by Igor.
52nd min: Man City see another Phil Foden free-kick deflected out for a corner as it nearly meets Manuel Akanji at the near post before Simon Adingra got in the way. The corner is cleared on the first delivery, but Brighton are once again under fire from Man City, who are taking the air out of the game with their possession.
46th min: There’s an immediate penalty shout for Brighton as Pascal Gross goes down under slight contact from Rodri, but there’s little in that and the referee waves play on. They just got their feet tangled.
Kickoff: The ball is rolling for the second half at the Amex, and the hosts will have to put forth an historic turnaround if they wish to get a result here and avoid being a footnote in the Premier League title race.
To that end, Roberto De Zerbi has made a pair of substitutions, installing Odel Offiah into the defence and Simon Adingra into the attack. They replace Adam Lallana and the booked Joel Veltman.
HALFTIME: Brighton 0-3 Man City
It’s unbelievably comfortable for Man City as they are in complete control at the halftime break. They didn’t pummel Brighton by any means, producing just nine total shots through the first 45 minutes, but they were dominant in possession and were hardly troubled at all by the home side.
Brighton had one solid opportunity early in the match, and slumped to inferiority from there. They were punished for sloppy and naive passing out of the back, and an efficient Man City front line needed only a few chances to put themselves well out in front. It was all Man City through the first half, and Brighton showed little in the way of promise to get back into the match.
To make matters worse for the hosts, it’s pouring rain at the Amex as conditions are less than stellar for a second-half comeback.
50 – Phil Foden has scored his 50th Premier League goal, and is only the third player to score 50 top-flight goals under Pep Guardiola while aged 23 or younger, after Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. Star. pic.twitter.com/hQrG4cfASB
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 25, 2024
Man City vs Brighton: First Half
35th min: Joel Veltman is booked after losing the ball and wrestling a Man City player to the ground. The yellow card is for booting the ball away in frustration in the aftermath, rather than the foul itself.
33rd min: GOAL! MAN CITY! It’s Phil Foden on the double! Brighton have had a shocker trying to play out of the back, and the England superstar has his second of the match to put Man CIty up 3-0! Roberto De Zerbi can’t believe what he’s seen!
The hosts are all over the place dribbling themselves into trouble in their own penalty area, and a simple tackle from Bernardo Silva on young Valentin Barco snatches it away. Silva’s poke falls to Foden who finishes with a first touch. It’s an embarrassing first-half from Brighton who are laying over far too easily against the defending champions.
HIGHLIGHT: Watch Phil Foden’s second goal in USA | Watch in UK | Watch in Canada
26th min: GOAL! MAN CITY! Phil Foden claims his 15th goal of the Premier League season and 50th of his career, but it comes via great fortune as his free-kick clips the back of Pascal Gross on its way through and takes an enormous deflection, leaving the diving Jason Steele with no chance to make the save.
Brighton will be disappointed with Gross for turning his back to the free-kick, but also because the initial foul call on Lewis Dunk battling Foden was soft at best. The England star won’t care, and he’s got yet another goal to add to his Player of the Season resume!
HIGHLIGHT: Watch Phil Foden goal in USA | Watch in UK | Watch in Canada
20th min: Chance, Man City! After Brighton nearly pull back level, Man City go right down the other end and fire a shot just wide themselves! It’s Julian Alvarez on the end of the City counter, who rips an effort across the face of goal from a tight angle on the right, wide of the far post. Not far off!
19th min: Chance, Brighton! Wow, Lewis Dunk should do better with that header for Brighton, in an effort to bring the hosts level! He meets a corner from about eight yards out, rising high over a defender, but heading it down into the ground right in front of Ederson, where it takes a charity hop into the goalkeeper’s waiting arms.
17th min: GOAL! MAN CITY! It’s Kevin De Bruyne with the opener as he deposits a diving header past Jason Steele, and the defending champions are in front! He meets a Kyle Walker cross from about 10 yards out and hits it with pinpoint accuracy for a headed effort. Exceptional finish for the Belgian star’s fourth goal in five games, and his first-ever headed goal in the Premier League!
HIGHLIGHT: Watch Kevin De Bruyne goal in USA | Watch in UK | Watch in Canada
15th min: Chance, Man City! It’s the first real scoring opportunity for either side as Phil Foden delivers a delicious curling free-kick on a platter to Nathan Ake at the far post, but the Man City defender is just an inch or two too slow to reach the delivery, and as he slides to reach the ball, he makes poor contact and redirects it over the crossbar.
6th min: Brighton have looked the more dangerous side in the early phase of this match, as Danny Welbeck scuffs a shot easily saved by Ederson and Joao Pedro runs a breakaway that ultimately falls apart just before a shot comes off. A solid opening phase to this match for the hosts at the Amex.
Kickoff: They’re under way at the Amex! What twists and turns will the Premier League title race take today?
How Manchester City and Brighton both stand in the Premier League table! 📊 pic.twitter.com/p6CMQlFUE4
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 25, 2024
Man City vs Brighton: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more
15 mins to kickoff: The title race is as exciting as it’s been in years, while Brighton still have an outside shot at European qualification, but must pick up the pace to have a way back into the top third of the table. Plenty on the line in this one.
“They’ve only got to slip up once. It’s a really intense period”
Jamie Redknapp on Man City’s next run of fixtures 🔜 pic.twitter.com/SM9GF2aln4
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 25, 2024
30 mins to kickoff: Man City have been far from their best over the past few months, most evident in their quarterfinal exit from the Champions League last week, but they remain a force down the stretch of the season.
Near-perfect league run-ins have become a hallmark of Pep Guardiola’s tenure at Man City, losing just four times and drawing just three down the final six matches of the season across his seven years in charge. That makes catching City at the top of the table a formidable challenge for the other clubs in the title race.
Man City enter their final six games of the Premier League season tonight 🔵
They’re formidable at the crunch under Pep 😤👀 pic.twitter.com/G6Kt430rkG
— LiveScore (@livescore) April 25, 2024
45 mins to kickoff: While Julio Enciso is left on the bench for Brighton, he could still make a late impact in this game, just like he did the last time Man City visited the Amex, scoring a howitzer from miles away, a strike which would later win Premier League Goal of the Season in the 2022/23 campaign.
Last time @OfficialBHAFC hosted Man City, Julio Enciso did this. pic.twitter.com/j4xQxXmXb0
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 25, 2024
1 hour to kickoff: Lineups are in, and the biggest bit of news is that Ruben Dias is not fit to start for Man City, with Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji at centre-back, leaving Josko Gvardiol to continue out-of-position at left-back. Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne both make the lineup, while Julian Alvarez is deployed at central striker with Erling Haaland not in the squad.
For Brighton, young star Julio Enciso only makes the bench despite all the attacking injuries to the side, as the Seagulls continue to protect him following a recent return from a serious knee injury. Adam Lallana starts as a playmaker over Facundo Buonanotte, while Simon Adingra is swapped out to bring Joao Pedro into the side.
1 hour 15 mins to kick: Thanks to Everton’s upset victory in the Merseyside derby over an exhausted and spent Liverpool squad yesterday, the Premier League title race is almost surely down to two participants with six games left in the season.
If Man City don’t make good today, they will cede control of the run-in to Arsenal, who thumped Chelsea back on Tuesday. Even with Liverpool fading, it will still be a thrilling finish to the season, especially if Brighton manage to pull out a result of any kind today!
A look at where Liverpool’s loss to Everton leaves the title race…
Will Man City capitalise when they play against Brighton tomorrow? pic.twitter.com/Hni0AxSQGI
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 24, 2024
1 hour 30 mins to kick: This Brighton side has lacked any sort of attacking consistency through the second half of the season, largely thanks to injuries which have wrecked the side’s front line. The loss of Karou Mitoma removes the side’s most dangerous forward, while the likes of Evan Ferguson and Billy Gilmour were also cut down due to fitness concerns.
The creative duties have fallen almost exclusively to Pascal Gross, who has created the third-most chances of any Premier League player this season, while Joao Pedro has contributed some off the bench. Still, no Brighton player has scored more than two Premier League goals in 2024, which presents a massive hole in the front of the Seagulls’ attack.
Highest Expected Assists in the Premier League this season (assists):
◉ 9.7 – Bukayo Saka (8)
◉ 8.4 – Martin Ødegaard (6)
◎ 7.88 – Pascal Groß (10)
◎ 7.74 – Bruno Fernandes (6)
◎ 7.01 – Kieran Trippier (10)
Putting them on a plate. 🍽 pic.twitter.com/xjIVWBoTTf
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 18, 2024
1 hour 45 mins to kick: While Kevin De Bruyne’s overall production this season has been muted thanks to his long injury layoff through the winter, when he has been available for Man City he’s been utterly phenomenal.
De Bruyne is averaging a goal contribution every 43 minutes in the Premier League this season, which would rank him second in the EPL behind only Cole Palmer of Chelsea if he had enough minutes to qualify for the leaderboard. Which makes comparisons on social media, like the one below, lacking significant context to be considered anything other than clickbait. When healthy, De Bruyne remains the league’s best No. 10, and that’s not remotely in question.
Bruno Fernandes has more Premier League goal contributions this season (17) than Martin Ødegaard (16) and Kevin De Bruyne (9) 👀
Underappreciated 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3SFyezF2yq
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 24, 2024
2 hours to kickoff: Without Erling Haaland fit to start up front, Man City should again turn to Phil Foden, who has been rested for the last two Premier League games amidst the Champions League run, but with that now at an end he can again be used in domestic action.
Foden had four goal contributions in the six matches while Haaland was shelved in December, and scored a hat-trick with Haaland on the bench against Aston Villa in early April. With 14 goals in the league campaign overall, Foden is probably out of the Golden Boot running unless he goes on an unprecedented run, but he could be a major player in the title race and put himself back in the forefront of the Player of the Season conversation.
🗣️ ‘I hope I’m up there in the conversation!’ 👀
Phil Foden joined @Ian_Ladyman_DM to reflect on his hopes of winning a PFA or FWA award this season on ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ 🎙️
Tap to listen to the full interview 👇
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) April 24, 2024
Man City vs Brighton pre-match facts & figures
Man City are on a 29-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, the club’s longest-ever run. Their last defeat came on December 6 to Aston Villa in Premier League play, making their 17-match league unbeaten run their second-longest in club history behind a 19-game streak in the 2020/21 season.
Phil Foden, sitting on 49 career Premier League goals, has scored more against Brighton (6) than against any other club.
Brighton have produced the fourth-most shots on target in the Premier League this season, but the quality of their chances has been poor — they rank in the bottom five for both xG/shot and xGOT/shot on target.
MORE: Preview Man City vs Brighton with picks, predictions, and latest odds
Man City vs Brighton lineups, team news
Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi is still missing a host of key players for the final weeks of the campaign. There are a few bright spots, as central defender Adam Webster will be available after missing three games, while young star Julio Enciso has returned from his knee ligament tear and is being brought back into the fold slowly, making the bench today.
Yet the likes of Evan Ferguson, Tariq Lamptey and Karou Mitoma remain absent, while Solly March, Pervis Estupinan, and Billy Gilmour are also sidelined for some time more as the injury list looks bleak.
Brighton starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Steele (GK) — Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Barco — Baleba, Moder — Pedro, Gross, Lallana — Welbeck.
Brighton subs (9): Verbruggen (GK), Webster, O’Mahony, Offiah, Igor, Buonanotte, Enciso, Adingra, Fati.
Erling Haaland had been thought to be involved here after the Norwegian star missed the Chelsea game on the weekend with a muscle issue, but he has been ruled out once again by Pep Guardiola. Meanwhile, Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku are not brought back into the fold after they were rested in the recent FA Cup semifinal.
Phil Foden is back starting in a Premier League match after a two-game stint on the bench to be rested for Champions League play, and Julian Alvarez takes the striker spot with Haaland still out.
Man City starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Ederson (GK) — Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol — Rodri, Kovacic — Foden, De Bruyne, Silva — Alvarez.
Man City subs (9): Ortega (GK), S. Gomez, Dias, R. Lewis, Stones, Nunes, Grealish, Doku, Bobb.
How to watch Man City vs Brighton
TV channel
Streaming
USA
USA Network, Universo
Fubo USA, NBC Sports app, Telemundo Deportes en Vivo
Canada
—
Fubo Canada
UK
Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League
Sky Go Extra
As the only Premier League match of the day, U.S. broadcast rights-holder NBC Sports has decided to televise this match on USA Network, which can be streamed on Fubo, who are offering a free trial for new users.
In Canada, Fubo is the exclusive broadcast rights-holder for the Premier League this season, with every match from August to May streaming live on the platform. Fubo also hold the exclusive broadcast rights to Serie A games in Canada, while other leagues like MLS, Bundesliga, and La Liga can be found throughout the season as well.
This midweek Premier League match will be broadcast domestically on Sky Sports television in the U.K. and their streaming platforms.
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