Five Things We Learned: Manchester City 3-1 Brighton (Premier League)

Manchester City returned to winning ways as they beat Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola’s side had been without a win in their previous two games, having been held to a goalless draw away to Copenhagen as well as a cutting 1-0 loss to rivals Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.

City stormed into a two goal lead by half-time thanks to a brace from man-in-form Erling Haaland, which included a penalty that was awarded by VAR after Bernardo Silva had been fouled by Brighton captain Lewis Dunk.

The visitors rallied in the second-half and found themselves back in the game thanks to a brilliant goal from Leandro Trossard, only for City to regain control via a superb strike by captain Kevin De Bruyne.

Saturday’s win takes City to second in the Premier League table, a point behind leaders Arsenal who are in action against Southampton on Sunday.

Here’s what we learned from City’s vital victory against the Seagulls…

erling haaland, manchester city.

Hungry Haaland Feasts Again

How despicable of Erling Haaland not to score in a game last weekend.

All jokes aside, many had expected Haaland to notch again at Anfield, only to see the striker fail to score for only a second match this season, but it would be a step too far to think the goals would not return promptly against Brighton.

With such high goal scoring standards to his name, the Norwegian did not take long to end his “goal drought” on Sunday afternoon.

Haaland gave City the lead through open play with a defence splitting run, before doubling both his personal tally for the afternoon and City’s lead with a well dispatched penalty before half-time.

This latest brace takes the striker’s goal tally to 17 in just 11 Premier League games and 22 in all competitions, with his blistering form showing no signs of slowing down.

It is hardly a lesson learned that Haaland is talented as a footballer or indeed clinical, but it is certainly a continuing schooling to those who doubted him when arriving in England.

I am pointing no fingers. Honestly I am not. Definitely not at Rory Jennings.

Route One Football at Stade de Etihad?

For all the talk of Guardiola’s tiki-taka revolutionising English football, as well as facing a team who also try to play free-flowing and attack-minded football, it was particularly ironic that the first goal of the contest came from a route one pass down the field.

Ederson saw that Haaland was in space and, after seeing the correct opening, played in the Norwegian in for his first goal of the game.

This is not the first time Ederson has been directly involved in a goal for the Premier League champions either, with the Brazilian goalkeeper assisting Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan in the past.

Brighton had been frustrating City up until this point, limiting their chances, meaning a change in playing style was essential if the home side were going to claim their first win in three matches.

It is interesting to see that Guardiola does not mind a brief switch from his usual deployed tactics if it ensures that the deadlock will be broken, such as in this instance versus the Seagulls.

Penalty Panic Perished

It is no secret that City have struggled with penalties in recent seasons, having no regularly reliable taker since the departure of Aguero in 2020.

Many have stepped up to the plate but failed to deliver, with damaging misses from the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne.

This spot kick curse seems to have been banished to the past though, as Haaland looks to have his penalties nailed to the point of frightening accuracy.

After Silva had earned the penalty for City, following a lengthy VAR check, City’s new number nine converted with power and placement past the despairing Robert Sanchez, who barely moved to stop Haaland’s pacy shot.

The Norwegian has scored a whopping 28 of the 30 penalties he has taken in his professional career, making for some frightening reading for Premier League defences.

Mentality Maintained in Adversity

City’s supporters have seen their team panic under heavy pressure from opponents all too often in recent years, especially when a goal has been conceded by Pep Guardiola’s side.

One such example of this was the Citizens’ dramatic Champions league semi-final collapse at the Bernabeu, when two Rodrygo goals in stoppage time prevented City reaching what would have been a consecutive Champions League final.

The Premier League champions suffered from no such breakdown on Saturday afternoon however, remaining strong when the going got tough.

Conceding a goal to Brighton would have annoyed Guardiola, but conceding possession so often in the moments following would have worried the Catalan coach far more.

Yet just as they could have faltered and allowed the visitors to draw level, City regained their composure and asserted their dominance with confident play that was capped off with a third goal, showing a clear shift in their mentality regarding adversity.

Kevin De Bruyne celebrates his goal against Brighton for Manchester City.

Akanji Better Centrally

There are few football fans, and even fewer City fans, who would argue that Manuel Akanji has not settled into English football since his arrival at the Etihad Stadium from Borussia Dortmund in September.

City’s new Swiss defender, their last signing of the summer transfer window, has looked a calm and assured addition to Guardiola’s backline in his appearances at centre back.

Yet due to a severe injury to regular City right-back Kyle Walker, City’s manager has been trying out Akanji in the role as cover for the England player.

City’s manager decided to continue this experiment on Saturday afternoon, starting the Swiss international in the full-back spot once again.

This was not as calm of a performance as we have become accustomed to seeing from Akanji, as the new signing gave the ball away several times with short, misplaced passes.

The mistakes were only highlighted more when Brighton piled the pressure on City’s backline after scraping a goal back early in the second-half.

Although this poorer performance led to nothing major in terms of the end result, City should be wary that Akanji’s preferred position is evidently in the middle of the defence, especially when the opposition do not sit back and actually go on the offensive.