Match Report and Player Ratings: Manchester City 0-1 Brighton and Hove Albion (Premier League)

Match Report and Player Ratings: Manchester City 0-1 Brighton and Hove Albion (Premier League) The Seagulls dominated early proceedings as they sought for revenge after narrowly losing on penalties at the Etihad Stadium in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday night. City were far from their usual flowing best and Fabian Hurzeler's side were in control for a large portion of the opening 45 minutes, capitalising on a lapse in concentration from Matheus Nunes when trying to deal with a drilled low cross into the box as Yasin Ayari gave the visitors the lead. This was Brighton's third time leading Manchester City in four days this week, with the Blues having scraped past the well-drilled outfit from the south coast in the Carabao Cup - thanks largely to backup goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli's heroics in the penalty shootout. The hosts were very limited in attack in the first-half, with Jeremy Doku cutting a frustrating figure and struggling to find his usual cutting edge in the final third and repeatedly overthinking when played in behind. Erling Haaland was also devoid of clear-cut chances and Lewis Dunk ensured the Norwegian's efforts, when they did come, were blocked. City entered the interval a goal down Maxim De Cuyper passed on a glorious chance to double Brighton 's advantage less than 120 seconds after the restart as the visitors continue to threaten on the counter, a huge let-off for the complacent Blues. Iliman Ndiaye saw a fierce effort on goal saved with the help of the post by Bart Verbruggen after 52 minutes as Manchester City launched wave after wave of attacks to launch a comeback, with Rayan Cherki introduced for Ayyoub Bouaddi to spark some creativity in a lacklustre attack. Cherki made an instant impact and found the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Matheus Nunes in great positions only for the Seagulls backline and Verbruggen to stand firm and protect their narrow advantage. Enzo Maresca brought on Nico O'Reilly for Fernandez and as the game entered its final 20 minutes, Gianluigi Donnarumma also gifted Brighton a second goal with a reckless pass into the City backline, which was dealt with and cleared by the hosts. O'Reilly created a wonderful chance for Ndiaye soon after his reintroduction but the Senegal international failed to convert at the back-post, with City also bringing on Phil Foden and Allan Elias to impact proceedings. Jack Hinshelwood hit the side netting in what was another huge Brighton chance to seal the win and moments after, Khusanov tested Verbruggen and the Seagulls goalkeeper stood tall and thwarted the ball to O'Reilly, whose rebound header also missed the post. Here's how we rated the Manchester City players from their second Premier League defeat in a row as Brighton came away from the Etihad Stadium with a well-deserved 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon! Gianluigi Donnarumma - 6/10 Couldn't have done much about the Brighton winner and had a trademark Gigio game on the ball too: comfortable for the most part but almost gifting the opposition a second goal with a misjudged pass in the second-half. Matheus Nunes - 5/10 Didn't deal with the cross that led to the only goal of the game and as unable to make amends for his early error at the back, though he has to be commended for never giving up. Abdukodir Khusanov - 5/10 Caught well out of position plenty of times throughout and given a harder day than usual by the Brighton attack, who took full advantage of the fact that Khusanov remains somewhere between a right-back and centre-half. Ruben Dias - 5.5/10 Not the problem today but failed to organise the defence against a well-drilled attack. Josko Gvardiol - 6/10 Many loose passes between him and Doku and in the end, the Brighton goal came from his side of the backline so he needs to take responsibility. Good going forward as always but wasn't able to command his usual presence. Ayyoub Bouaddi - 6/10 As testing a game for the teenager to be thrown in and it didn't help him that others around him weren't purring as normal. Often over-powered and over-crowded in midfield and while he was good on the ball, this game will serve as a huge learning curve for Bouaddi. Elliot Anderson - 6/10 Challenging game for the Englishman, he grew into the game after a disappointing 45 minutes but Brighton's cohesion in midfield got the better of Anderson and co. Enzo Fernandez - 6/10 A few nice through balls but nothing more of substance. Struggling to imagine how he's keeping his place in the starting XI week after week. Iliman Ndiaye - 6.5/10 City's most active forward on the day, never stopped running and going at his man. Plenty of encouraging runs, take-ons, arrived in several goalscoring positions but can't seem to find the back of the net! Erling Haaland - 6/10 Barely had anything to feed on and Lewis Dunk ensured whatever scraps he had were dealt with. Frustrating day at the office for the number nine. Jeremy Doku - 5.5/10 The less said, the better. Rayan Cherki - 6.5/10 One of City's best players of the afternoon despite only coming on in the second-half, set up Fernandez and Nunes in goalscoring positions but neither could finish. Nico O'Reilly - 6/10 Same as Cherki, instant impact but his service was not met with a goalscoring touch.