Brighton 2-1 Manchester City: Cityzens' Player Ratings as defending champs slump to fourth straight loss | Premier League 2024-25

A tough run of results for Manchester City grew from bad to worse on Sunday, November 9. Pep Guardiola's side succumbed to a 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League at the Amex Stadium.

Following their loss to Liverpool last week, Seagulls head coach Fabian Huerzler made one forced change. Ferdi Kadioglu suffered an injury and was replaced by Simon Adingra.

On the other hand, City had suffered losses to Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth, and Sporting CP heading into the game. Jahmai Simpson-Pusey made his first appearance in the Premier League while Kyle Walker and Ilkay Gundogan came in for Manuel Akanji and Bernardo Silva.

The first half saw both sides create chances to score, with Manchester City dominating the early portions of the game. They took the lead in the 23rd minute through Erling Haaland when Mateo Kovacic sent Norwegian in on goal. His effort was initially saved but he knocked home the rebound to open the scoring.

As the second half began, the hosts began to gain control as they looked to take advantage of the visitors' high line. They created multiple chances and finally leveled through Joao Pedro in the 78th minute. A goalmouth melee saw the ball eventually fall to the forward who poked home to make it 1-1.

Five minutes later, summer signing Matt O'Riley scored to hand the Seagulls a well-deserved lead. A flowing move saw Pedro turn provider, finding the midfielder with a sharp pass and he found the back of the net.

Manchester City pushed on in search of an equaliser but were unable to pierce Brighton's resolute defense. The result means Pep Guardiola's side missed their chance to go top of the table. Here are the player ratings:

Manchester City Player Ratings

Ederson - 6/10

The Brazilian made a couple of good saves but couldn't do much about either of the goals.

Kyle Walker - 5.5/10

A difficult game for Manchester City captain Walker. He found it tough to deal with Kaoru Mitoma and was beaten by him on multiple occasions.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey - 5.5/10

Not a particularly memorable Premier League debut as the central defender looked uncomfortable at times, unable to deal with the Seagulls' attack.

Josko Gvardiol - 6/10

Usually deployed at left-back, the Croatian was used in central defense and had an overall tidy outing. However, Manchester City could have used his threat going forward chasing the game.

Rico Lewis - 5/10

Inverted into midfield as expected but was blown by too easily, and was unable to deal with the physicality.

Mateo Kovacic - 6.5/10

One of City's better performers on the night, his carrying from midfield and passing was key at times for the side. He finished with one assist, five chances created, 11 passes into the final third, and five dribbles.

Savio - 6.5/10

The Brazilian was a lively presence on the right flank, with his dribbling causing problems for the Seagulls. However, his end product left a lot to be desired.

Phil Foden - 5.5/10

Playing in a central role, he seemed to earn Guardiola's ire at one point and could not really make a difference throughout the game.

Ilkay Gundogan - 6/10

Helped Manchester City gain a lot of control in midfield but failed to create a single chance, prompting the manager to take him off.

Matheus Nunes - 6/10

An energetic performance down the left from the Portuguese man but similar to his teammates he could not create the decisive chance.

Erling Haaland - 7/10

Haaland took his tally to 12 in the season with a poacher's finish but he mostly received little service otherwise.

Substitutes

Bernardo Silva - 5/10

Failed to create much of an impact after coming on for Gundogan.

Kevin De Bruyne - 6/10

Came close to scoring with an effort from outside the box but couldn't force the needed moment of magic.