Manchester Metropolis suffered their fourth defeat in a row after they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday night.
An early effort from Erling Haaland was nullified as two additional Brighton strikes secured their destiny on the Amex. Pep Guardiola’s aspect confronted one more setback of their journey to say their fifth-successive Premier League title – handing a lifeline to Arne Slot’s Liverpool on the prime of the desk.
It was throughout earlier than Metropolis had been capable of claw any likelihood of a victory again.
How the sport unfolded
Pep Guardiola’s aspect managed possession from the offset as they appeared to bounce again from back-to-back defeats towards Sporting CP and Bournemouth. Brighton, unbeaten within the Premier League at house, put up a tricky struggle as they appeared to dampen Metropolis’s title hopes.
However then, the primary massive likelihood of the night got here for younger winger Savinho – who slid in on the proper however did not beat Bart Verbruggen between the sticks. A terrific save from the goalkeeper was only a momentary celebration for the Seagulls, who conceded simply seven minutes later.
It was Erling Haaland who took the glory for Metropolis’s opening strike. The Norwegian flew in direction of the Brighton objective with absolute intent, firing a shot in direction of Verbruggen – who’s contact was not sufficient to cease the striker from scoring.
Metropolis’s capacity to push on the counter proved harmful for Brighton, splitting up the hosts’ defence with ease. Heading into the break, Kaoru Mitoma tried to set Danny Welbeck up for a shot on track. The striker performed an excellent ball, however was unable to complete his effort – leaving Brighton looking for an equaliser.
When play resumed, the hosts continued to push. They tried to interrupt down Metropolis however had been met with disappointment as Brighton’s backline struggled to fend off their attacking skills.
Nevertheless, their lifeline lastly got here within the 78th minute as Joao Pedro grabbed the ball contained in the field and fired it into the web from shut vary. A scrappy affair noticed Metropolis wrestle to clear the preliminary try away from their field, leaving Pedro to complete the trouble and equalise the scoreline.
Pedro’s strike opened up the floodgates – with Brighton incomes a second simply moments later. The goalscorer added an help to his CV after establishing a transparent shot for Matthew O’Riley. The Dane strolled by way of Metropolis’s backline earlier than tapping an effort in, making it 2-1.
Brighton clung on to their deserved lead by way of 9 minutes of damage time, leaving Guardiola’s males dissatisfied from one more journey to the south coast.
GK: Bart Verbruggen – 7/10 – Verbruggen made a unbelievable save to disclaim Savinho within the early moments of the sport and continued to be a drive between the sticks. He was unfortunate to not cease Haaland within the first half.
RB: Joel Veltman – 4/10 – Made some common clearances however was let down by his lack of tempo. A disappointing efficiency from the Brighton defender.
CB: Jan Paul van Hecke – 6/10 – In comparison with his defensive teammate, Van Hecke had a way more spectacular efficiency on the again. He made certain to get himself on the ball every time he may and broke down traces with ease.
CB: Igor – 5/10 – Igor was proven a yellow-card for a controversial foul on Haaland and struggled to impress towards his opponent’s attacking skills.
LB: Pervis Estupinan – 6/10 – The left-back loved a robust efficiency towards Metropolis, utilising his pace and agility to bounce round his opponents.
RM: Simon Adingra – 6/10 – Controversially didn’t obtain any assist from the referee when he was fouled by Nunes. Regardless of this, Adingra labored exhausting to assist his workforce and precipitated issues for Metropolis.
CM: Jack Hinshelwood – 6/10 – Did nicely to get on the tip of helpful crosses and facilitate late runs into the field whereas Brighton appeared to interrupt down Metropolis’s defence.
CM: Yasin Ayari – 5/10 – A assured outing for Ayari, but his confidence become conceitedness when he started to play quick and unfastened along with his challenges. He was fortunate to stay on the pitch for a full half.
LM: Kaoru Mitoma – 7/10 – A lovely efficiency from Mitoma who was unfortunate to not etch his title onto the scoresheet. His work in assault created so many probabilities for Brighton.
ST: Georginio Rutter – 6/10 – The Frenchman labored exhausting in assault however was outshadowed by the expertise subsequent to him. He helped to drive Brighton’s play, however was unable to attain a objective of his personal.
ST: Danny Welbeck – 7/10 – Surprisingly didn’t register a objective towards Metropolis, however did guarantee he was on the coronary heart of all of Brighton’s attacking play. One other commendable efficiency from the striker.
Substitutes
SUB: Carlos Baleba (46′ for Ayari) – 6/10
SUB: Matthew O’Riley (57′ for Hinshelwood) – 8/10 – Outrageous outing from O’Riley who scored the successful objective towards the reigning champions.
SUB: Brajan Gruda (66′ for Rutter) – 6/10
SUB: Joao Pedro (66′ for Adringa) – 9/10 – Scientific, technical and unstoppable – Pedro was the sport changer down on the south coast.
SUB: Jakub Moder (90′ for Mitoma) – N/A
Subs not used: Jason Steele (GK), Julio Enciso, Mats Wieffer, Evan Ferguson.
Supervisor
Fabian Hurzeler – 8/10 – Made some unbelievable substitutions to vary the sport round. A deserved win towards the Premier League champions.
GK: Ederson – 5/10 – Was comparatively untested between the sticks, earlier than the ultimate moments of the sport, however did make some wonderful line-breaking passes to his teammates.
RB: Rico Lewis – 7/10 – Lewis instantly moved greater up the pitch to assist out the midfield and impressed along with his duality. He made some wonderful clearances and proved to work exhausting on the ball. Generally faltered in defensive duties.
CB: Kyle Walker – 5/10 – Walker’s sluggish tempo appeared to have an effect on his capacity to guard Metropolis’s backline nicely. The senior defender seemed to be one of many weaker points of the workforce, typically proving liable when Brighton pushed on to assault.
CB: Jahmai Simpson-Pusey – 7/10 – Very sturdy displaying from the 19-year-old who appeared calm and composed on the again. The teenager picked his passes nicely and made certain to get himself into unbelievable positions.
LB: Josko Gvardiol – 7/10 – Gvardiol made a surprising block within the first half to stop Brighton from scoring and continued to impress in defence. A powerful, commanding efficiency from the left-back.
DM: Mateo Kovacic – 8/10 – Completely immense displaying from Kovacic. His capacity to regulate the ball proved important for Metropolis and his expertise at warding off opponents while beneath stress helped his aspect declare success.
RW: Savinho – 6/10 – Savinho missed the possibility to place Metropolis forward early on and was compelled to work exhausting on the proper aspect of the pitch to make up for Walker’s lack of tempo.
AM: Phil Foden – 6/10 – Struggled to impress towards Brighton and wanted to get extra concerned within the recreation if he needed to make a real affect. Nevertheless, he did drop additional down the sector to assist his teammates on numerous events – a motion that appeared extra fruitful.
AM: Ilkay Gundogan – 4/10 – Gundogan discovered it exhausting to get into the sport. The midfielder made sloppy touches and lazy passes while struggling to maintain up with the tempo of the sport.
LW: Matheus Nunes – 4/10 – Was fortunate to flee a foul on Adingra. Nunes labored to create pockets of house, however in the end his attacking contributions had been mediocre at finest.
ST: Erling Haaland – 7/10 – Haaland bagged his twelfth Premier League objective and cut up the edges within the first half. The proficient striker drove down the pitch at a powerful pace to create probabilities for his aspect – spectacular.
Substitutes
SUB: Bernardo Silva (72′ for Gundogan) – 6/10
SUB: Kevin De Bruyne (74′ for Savinho) – 5/10
Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Jacob Wright, James McAtee, Nico O’Reilly.
Supervisor
Pep Guardiola – 4/10 – One other poor displaying for the Catalan boss and his aspect. Guardiola did not study from the errors made in earlier video games and paid the worth.
