Brighton scored twice in the final minutes to stun the champions with a 2-1 victory, handing Manchester City their fourth consecutive defeat—only the second time this has happened in Pep Guardiola’s career—turning a rough patch into a crisis.
Following earlier losses to Bournemouth, Tottenham, and Sporting, City seemed on the path to recovery as Erling Haaland put them ahead in the first half.
But, late in the game, substitutes Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley—making his delayed Premier League debut due to an ankle injury from his summer move from Celtic—came off the bench to ignite the Amex Stadium and deny City valuable points in the title race. This result temporarily lifted Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton into the top four.
City had dominated the first half, and Haaland’s breakthrough goal, slipping past Bart Verbruggen on his second attempt, initially gave them the lead.
