Brighton make stunning comeback as City lose 4 in a row after a 2-1 loss to the Seagulls at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton pull off comeback win after goals from Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley cancel out Erling Haaland’s opener.
Guardiola appeared to be unaware of what had happened to him. The Manchester City boss must have been thinking about something he hasn’t experienced in nearly 20 years as a manager while Brighton’s players and fans erupted in celebration of Matt O’Riley’s game-winning goal.
Given how thoroughly his team had dominated Brighton in the first half, it must have been particularly difficult for him to accept a fourth straight loss for the first time in his career. However, João Pedro set up fellow replacement O’Riley five minutes after equalising Erling Haaland’s first goal, sparking a spectacular comeback for Fabian Hürzeler’s team.
For the midfielder, who made his Premier League debut after getting hurt just nine minutes into his Brighton career in August after joining from Celtic in the summer, it was especially sweet. How O’Riley relished his moment as the home crowd surrounded the struggling City manager with chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” as they approached a historic triumph.
Guardiola surprised everyone by keeping teenager Jahmai Simpson-Pusey in an untested central defensive pairing with Josko Gvardiol, despite his earlier pledge that his team will learn from their mistakes against Sporting in midweek. Before João Pedro came off the bench with 25 minutes remaining and joined Hürzeler’s other substitutes, everything seemed to be going smoothly.
Early on, the visitors had dominated the game as Pervis Estupiñán kept finding space behind the dangerous Savinho.
After 23 minutes, Mateo Kovacic’s beautiful shimmy afforded him space in midfield to send the ideal through pass for Haaland, who hammered home from close range after Verbruggen had made the first save. The goal came quickly after that. Fortunately for the Brighton goalie, the Norwegian’s subsequent attempt after Foden set him up bounced over the post and off his heel before Haaland headed over the resultant corner.
In a halftime television interview, Hürzeler stated that his team needed to display more bravery, and they attacked right away. After Mitoma initiated a flowing move, Jack Hinshelwood should have done better from Estupiñán’s cross, but Mitoma could only put a soft header on target from Georgino Rutter’s cross.
City appeared uneasy, but they retaliated by attacking. Had it not been for a last-ditch clearing from Estupiñán at the back post, Haaland would have been the one to provide for Savinho. As Hürzeler substituted João Pedro and Brajan Gruda and launched an all-out onslaught, Rutter’s final contribution was to head over the crossbar from another risky ball into City’s area.
As City tried to restore control, Kevin De Bruyne was brought on for the first time since mid-September, but every Brighton onslaught just made Guardiola more nervous. They made a terrible job of clearing Mitoma’s cross, and João Pedro jumped on the loose ball to equalise, so he had good reason to be worried. When O’Riley stole the show with a one-two between Welbeck and João Pedro, there was no questioning the calibre of the winning goal.