After Phil Foden’s two goals in the first half propelled Manchester City to a dominant 4-0 victory over Brighton, the team cut the deficit to one point over Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Kevin De Bruyne’s spectacular diving header at a rainy Amex Stadium put Pep Guardiola’s defending champions on track for a comfortable victory.
With two goals in as many minutes, Foden took the lead and put City, who are playing the Gunners at the top of the table, ahead 5-0 at the half. In the second half, Julian Alvarez finished off the demolition.
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With a deflected free-kick and a brilliant first-time finish eight minutes later, the in-form Foden now has eight goals in his ten career games against an inferior Albion team.
The England midfielder’s first goal gave Albion, who ultimately lost because of their insistence on playing out of the back, cause for resentment. Lewis Dunk barely made touch with him after Jakub Moder’s nibbling.
Although their winless streak now stands at five games, Roberto De Zerbi’s 11th-placed hosts can hardly be too upset about it since City justifiably overtook Liverpool to take second position, closed the gap on Arsenal, and improved their goal differential just in time.
After losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League and edging past Chelsea to get to the FA Cup final, City began their title defence.
After announcing that his championship-chasing team will be facing one of their hardest tests of the year in Sussex, manager Guardiola made three changes to the starting lineup, with top scorer Erling Haaland once again sidelined by injury.
With a magical moment in the 17th minute, the visitors gradually gained the upper hand in the match.
After Foden released Kyle Walker down the right, the speedy De Bruyne expertly headed his cross into the upper right corner from level with the penalty spot.
Brighton demonstrated glimmers of attacking boldness to give their title-chasing rivals something to think about as they looked to resurrect their flagging European push.
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Before the Seagulls fell further down in controversial circumstances in the 26th minute, former Manchester United star Danny Welbeck and captain Dunk put City custodian Ederson to the test early on.
The referee, Jarred Gillett, infuriated the home crowd by awarding City a free-kick on the edge of the box. Foden, who looked to slide before hitting the deck, promptly scored a historic goal with the help of a strong deflection off Pascal Gross.
Brighton quickly found themselves facing a crushing loss.
City capitalised on risky attempts to play out from the back, and Foden calmly placed his 16th league goal of the season into the bottom left corner after Bernardo Silva intercepted a ball from Valentin Barco, a full Premier League rookie, on the edge of the hosts’ penalty area.
