Brighton Triumphs 2-1 Against Manchester City With Late Goals From Milner And Gruda

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Brighton secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Amex Stadium, thanks to Brajan Gruda's late goal. Erling Haaland had earlier given City the lead with his 88th Premier League goal during his 100th appearance. However, Pep Guardiola's team suffered their second consecutive defeat as Brighton's manager, Fabian Hurzeler, made impactful substitutions around the hour mark.

Two of Brighton's substitutes were instrumental in their comeback. James Milner scored his first goal for Brighton by converting a penalty in the 67th minute after Matheus Nunes handled the ball. This made Milner the second-oldest goalscorer in Premier League history. The goalkeeper he scored against, James Trafford, was born just a month before Milner's debut in 2002.

Yankuba Minteh nearly scored, and Georginio Rutter tested City's goalkeeper James Trafford with a strong shot. Trafford then made an impressive save to deny Jan Paul van Hecke as City tried to withstand Brighton's late pressure. However, Kaoru Mitoma set up Gruda for a composed finish that sealed a memorable win for Brighton.

Manchester City faced familiar challenges after their mid-season slump last year. Guardiola wouldn't have expected only three points from their first three games this season. This marks the first time since 2004-05 that City has lost two of their opening three Premier League matches.

Historically, only Manchester United has recovered from such a start to win the title, achieving this feat in the inaugural 1992-93 season. Despite having 12 shots during the match, City managed just three on target. In contrast, Brighton hit the target seven times despite being quiet for much of the first hour.

Rodri Returns Amidst Defeat

A positive note for City was Rodri's return to league action following a serious knee injury against Arsenal in September 2024. Unfortunately for him, this marked his first loss in a Premier League game he started since City's defeat to Tottenham in February 2023. This ended Rodri's impressive streak of 49 unbeaten starts.

Only Sol Campbell has had more consecutive starts without losing, with a record of 56 between 2002 and 2004. City's lacklustre performance saw them fail to register any shots on target in the second half while facing six themselves.

This result leaves Manchester City with much to ponder as they aim to bounce back from their disappointing start to the season and regain their form in upcoming matches.