Manchester City 0 Brighton 1: Enzo Maresca’s side slump to a defeat they deserved

Manchester City 0 Brighton 1: Enzo Maresca’s side slump to a defeat they deserved Manchester City 0 Brighton 1 (Yasin Ayari 11′) Manchester City have lost their second consecutive match in the Premier League as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Brighton. An early Yasin Ayari goal was enough to condemn City to defeat today. A Matheus Nunes error gifted Brighton an early lead they would not relinquish. Manchester City’s lack of cutting edge or quality cost them dearly. As did yet another defensive mistake which is becoming an issue that quickly must be solved for Enzo Maresca’s side. When the starting lineups were announced , Enzo Maresca had made ten changes from the starting lineup from the fourth round Carabao Cup tie between City and Brighton. Ayyoub Bouaddi was the only player to keep his starting spot as Enzo Maresca brought back the big guns for today’s match against a quality Brighton outfit. First half. The first five minutes of the match were a bit of a cat and mouse battle. Brighton were composed in possession, especially from the back. The Manchester City players weren’t engaging with Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen when he had possession, which did catch the eye early on. Enzo Maresca’s side did have two early promising forays forward in the opening five minutes that didn’t amount to open the match. Brighton come to life and then take the lead. It was Brighton who would take the lead in the 11th minute. Fabian Hurzeler’s side won a contentious free kick in midfield. Lewis Dunk played the ball out to the right to Maxim De Cuyper, who was allowed too much space on the right. De Cuyper played a teasing low ball across the six-yard box, which Matheus Nunes failed to deal with. His attempted clearance fell to Yasin Ayari, who had too much time and comfortably beat Gianluigi Donnarumma from close range to give Brighton an early 1-0 lead. Brighton’s goal was an easy one for them to score and a poor one for Enzo Maresca’s side to concede after a spell of Brighton possession and pressure. Manchester City responded well after falling behind. In the 22nd minute, Iliman Ndiaye should have made it 1-1. Elliot Anderson played in a quality left-footed cross from the right which picked out Ndiaye unmarked just outside the Brighton six-yard box. However, Ndiaye glanced his header wide of the far post to spurn Manchester City’s first quality chance of the match. Four minutes later, Iliman Ndiaye would hit a powerful shot straight at Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen. Ndiaye surged into the Brighton area and fired a powerful shot straight at Verbruggen. The Brighton keeper palmed the ball down before gathering the rebound as Enzo Maresca’s side continued to pile on the pressure. From the 30th to the 40th minute, Enzo Maresca’s side were dominating possession and territory. The issue was there was no end product. Manchester City’s attacks either ended with a poor touch or decision. Brighton continued to defend well and resolutely which made City task that bit more difficult. Lewis Dunk makes a proper captain’s block to deny Erling Haaland. In the 41st minute, Manchester City would play through Brighton in midfield. Some clever play from City ended with Enzo Fernandez playing Josko Gvardiol into space just past the halfway line. Enzo Maresca’s side surged forward with the Brighton defence stretched. Gvardiol slipped in Erling Haaland, who hit a shot from just inside the penalty area which Lewis Dunk slid in to block. The only issue with that attack was that Gvardiol’s through ball to Haaland forced the Norwegian hitman to check before hitting his shot, which allowed Dunk the opportunity to get a block in. After an Iliman Ndiaye cross produced what seemed to be the 100th handball shout of the first half, the referee’s whistle blew. Brighton would take a 1-0 lead into the interval and Enzo Maresca’s side had work to do. Impressions from Manchester City’s first half display. The best word that sums up Manchester City’s first half display in my opinion is disjointed. At times, City dominated possession and territory but lacked any end product or quality in the final third. Yes, City had their moments but overall there was a lack of quality in Manchester City’s attacking play. The disappointing aspect of the first half from a City point of view was that Brighton’s goal came after their only spell of dominance in the first half. Also, Matheus Nunes made a hash of his clearance to add another error to the catalogue of defensive errors that have led to goals. This must be rectified by the City players. However, there were still 45 minutes to play and there was plenty of scope to improve from a City point of view. However, the threat of Brighton going forward was ever present. Second half. Brighton should have taken a 2-0 lead straight after halftime. Diego Gomez nutmegged Elliot Anderson on the halfway line, which broke open play. Gomez slipped the ball through to Yasin Ayari, who was in behind the City defence. Ayari was away on the right with Maxim De Cuyper in acres of space on the left. Ayari played a ball across to De Cuyper, who had space and time to get a shot away inside the City area. Fortunately for Enzo Maresca’s side, De Cuyper blasted his shot high and wide and the score remained 1-0. Iliam Ndiaye saw a powerful shot saved into the near post by Bart Verbruggen in the 52nd minute. Ndiaye was played into space on the right and he surged towards goal. The Senegalese international fired a shot at goal that Verbruggen tipped onto the post, which deflected behind for a corner. A minute later Gianluigi Donnarumma would deny a Maxim De Cuyper header with a quality save. Brighton surged forward on the break and Pascal Groß played in a quality cross from the right. De Cuyper beat Matheus Nunes to the ball and got a header on target from six-yards out which Donnarumma kept out at full stretch to his right at his near post. Bart Verbruggen made a stunning save to deny Matheus Nunes in the 61st minute. Rayan Cherki, who had replaced Ayyoub Bouaddi six minutes earlier, slipped Nunes in on the right with a quality through ball. Nunes checked inside onto his left foot and fired a low drive across goal that Verbruggen tipped behind for a corner. From the subsequent corner, Erling Haaland headed a chance straight at Verbruggen from a corner which was flighted to the back post. Manchester City had to find a spark from somewhere. With twenty minutes to go, Manchester City had to find something. They had dropped Brighton but their play in the final third was lacking any real threat. Gianluigi Donnarumma almost gifted Brighton a gilt-edged opportunity to make it 2-0 in the 72nd minute. His pass from his own area was poor and was seized upon by Brighton’s press. However, Elliot Anderson saved the day with a superb challenge in his own area, which allowed Donnarumma to clean up his mess. Iliman Ndiaye would again hit the post in the 76th minute. A well-worked move saw City move forward with a well-worked move. Doku cut inside from the left. He played a ball to Ruben Dias who surged into the Brighton area. Dias played the ball to Nico O’Reilly on the left who played a great low cross across the six-yard box. Ndiaye got on the end of the ball at the back post but his finish hit the post and went behind. As well as Ndiaye can play, he must improve his finishing. It is as simple as that. After Jack Hinshelwood chipped a great opportunity wide for Brighton to make it 2-0 in the 88th minute, Manchester City should have equalized. First of all, Abdukodir Khusanov slipped in on the right and his powerful shot was saved by Bart Verbruggen. The rebound fell to Nico O’Reilly who headed a great chance inches wide of the post, which pretty much summed up Manchester City’s day. Nico O’Reilly’s missed chance would be the final significant moment of the game. At the final whistle, Brighton picked up a 1-0 win and a familiar issue cost City. The game left more questions than answers at the final whistle. First impressions from Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat to Brighton. If you judge on the game on the eye test and statistics, much like City’s loss to Aston Villa, they did enough to get at least a point from today’s match. However, looking at it that way would be sugar coating what unfolded. Enzo Maresca’s side were below their best today. Far too often their end product in the final third was lacking. Whether that was decision making, or quality in terms of a shot or the final ball. The same rang true at Villa Park. What stood out today is that Enzo Maresca’s side needs time to come together. They aren’t there yet. That was an inescapable conclusion to draw from Manchester City’s 1-0 loss to Brighton today at the Etihad Stadium. The other was once again individual errors at the back cost them dearly. Until those errors are solved, every game will be a game of Russian roulette for Enzo Maresca’s side.