Brighton 2-1 Manchester City Review

Premier League GW11

This match very much was the cliche that is ‘a game of two halves’ where Manchester City looked to be on top and dominate against Brighton before it was turned on its head in the second half. Through the introduction of Baleba, his performance, and the tactical tweaks it afforded Brighton. Aided by the poor defensive display of Manchester City out of possession.

Notable Stats:

• Manchester City have lost a Premier League game in which they led at half-time for the first time since May 2021, also away to Brighton & Hove Albion.

• Brighton’s match-winner Matt O'Riley became the first player to score against Manchester City on his Premier League debut since Steven Bergwijn for Tottenham Hotspur in February 2020.

• Erling Haaland has lost a Premier League match in which he scored a goal for the very first time, having won 40 and drawn six of the previous 46 he’d scored in before today.

Game Stats:

Brighton 2-1 Man City

• xG: 2.29 - 2.22

• Possession: 40% - 60%

• Penalty Box Shots: 8 - 12

• Penalty Area Touches: 20 - 28

• Final Third Entries: 34 - 61

• Successful Crosses: 4 - 4

• Goalkeeper Saves: 5 - 2

Failure to take their chances despite the xG created across the last four away matches, mixed with the chances they are affording the opposition is a simple recipe for a losing streak.

If you want to keep up to date with individual player minutes, underlying numbers and the back four used in each match then check out the live Google sheet linked below. Updated after each match. 👇

There was a fair concern to be had when the lineup came out, despite knowing what was coming with all the injuries to players, when you see the backline of Lewis - Gvardiol - SP - Walker you know it’s less than ideal. That will not have played together if at all. Both Gundogan and Kovacic are together in the midfield, again leaving a lot to be desired out of possession whilst you have the likes of Wright, O’Reilly, and McAtee on the bench who could help with that.

In the first half, especially for the first twenty to twenty-five minutes, you saw a switch back to a 3-2-5 shape in possession from Manchester City as Rico Lewis inverted from LB alongside Mateo Kovacic. Gundogan and Foden are in front as double 10s. Nunes and Savinho provide width. Once they settled into the match Rico Lewis would then push further up to form the 3-1-6 as he was between the lines with Gundogan and Foden.

Out of possession, the team shifted its approach of when to engage high up the pitch. They still wanted to push up high against Brighton but Haaland/Foden were not pressing until Brighton made the first move.

Right now, with the form City are in, they need players to take chances in the first half and this shot from Savinho is one of them. A free kick to the back post taken by Foden just bounces up too high for Haaland to get a good contact on it. Haaland gets another chance, this time at the near post after Foden plays him through into the box. As well as the corner shortly after he heads over.

Haaland 1-0 (23') 

After the pass from Gvardiol is intercepted, Mateo Kovacic then intercepts the attempt by Brighton to play a pass in behind. Does well to read it, go past the player, and drive into space. Erling Haaland makes the run between the two CBs, which Kovacic finds with an excellent through ball, holding off any challenge and getting himself into the box. Once through Haaland shoots to the right of BV who manages to make a save with his leg out but Haaland follows up the rebound.

The approach out of possession I mentioned at the start, is to engage once Brighton tries to play out, which requires intensity as soon as that action is taken. In the first half, you had that but in the second it was missing. Manchester City were passive, not aggressive in closing down distance and engaging in duels, and so they gave Brighton the room to gain confidence and eventually pick their passes.

The introduction of Baleba at half-time meant that Brighton could switch to a single pivot in the buildup and free up Hinshelwood to move into the next midfield line. To support the press and be more aggressive against Manchester City. They had a midfield now that could dominate duels. Matt O’Riley came on for Hinshelwood (57’) due to injury and it turned out great for them with his late runs into the box. Joao Pedro came on (65’) shortly after that, tasked with operating between the lines, making runs into the box, and attacking the half-space between Walker and Simpson-Pusey. The clever tweaks from Fabian Hurzeler along with the drop in intensity from Manchester City proved fatal.

Bernardo Silva came on for Gundogan (72’) in the second half which made sense given the drop in intensity from the midfield. De Bruyne coming on for Savinho (74’) did not since it caused Foden to be shifted out of midfield and quite frankly you do not see the same intensity OOP you’d expect from De Bruyne. Giving Brighton more time on the ball and making it easier to play between the lines.

Joao Pedro 1-1 (78')

Manchester City is slow to react when the switch is played out to Mitoma, Kyle Walker doesn't get out quick enough to prevent the cross from coming in. When it's deflected away, Mitoma fires it back into Welbeck inside the box whose shot is blocked by Rico Lewis and Joao Pedro picks out the loose ball before City players can clear it, bringing Brighton level.

Matt O'Riley 2-1 (83') 

Passive midfield from Manchester City that without putting pressure on the ball allows Baleba to pick out this pass between the lines into Welbeck, laid off to Pedro as he loses Kovacic. Pedro then picked out the run of Matt O'Riley into the box, which Rico Lewis tracked but wasn't able to stop, nor was a defender able to intercept the pass as it went through. O'Riley also had the option to pass to Welbeck for an easy tap-in goal.

Moving Forward

It’s clear that having secondary scorers is becoming a problem, there is no shortage of players chipping in with a goal or two but it’s not like it used to be. Mahrez, Sterling, De Bruyne, and Foden you could always rely on in previous seasons, Alvarez as well. Right now it’s only Foden who is your guarantee for goals outside of Haaland. Everyone else you suggest is a risk or involves a lot of hope. The form of Matheus is welcomed.

There is a feel of 2020/21 to this league right now and no team I can honestly say having watched them is impressive. Despite the defeats, Manchester City are only five points behind Liverpool and four points clear of 3rd place. From 3rd to 9th, seven teams are separated by a point. One week you are in the Champions League spots and next, it’s a midtable crisis.

You can always depend on Ruben Dias to choose the right words at the right moments. The team will need a player with those leadership qualities and character back in the dressing room as well as his qualities on the pitch, to organize the defense. To not mess about in our box. To love to defend. As he mentions, this low point should be motivation for the squad to turn it around and step up. No better opportunity than Spurs (H) and Liverpool (A). The fan and league-wide sentiment turns on its head if you win those two.

Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes, Rico Lewis, and Josko Gvardiol have started all three away matches in this latest run. Nathan Ake has not been available to provide consistent rotation with Josko Gvardiol, neither has Kyle Walker for Rico Lewis at right-back. No option for rotating Haaland. Nunes now has no competition for a place on the left wing. It’s undeniable that this has played a role in the recent form of players, it’s not just about which players are starting but whether any of them are even fresh at all.

Now the schedule dictates that a decision on Pep Guardiola’s future is needed. You cannot continue to leave the fans and players unsure, and anxious about the decision. You cannot head into January and the summer transfer window without a clear managerial plan to present to your transfer targets.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey continued his performance into the Brighton match despite lacking a solid structure around him. Line-breaking passes through the middle, shifts and carries through the press a couple of times well, and is confident under pressure in the buildup. Not easy to be brave on the ball in those conditions. Of course, he had some mistakes that need to be cleared up but those will go a long way towards his development. I'd like to see him start alongside Dias or Stones next. The silver lining from the poor City form.

The last time Manchester City played the same backfour in consecutive matches this season was in August (Ipswich Town, West Ham). The last time Manchester City played 3/4 of the same backfour in consecutive matches this season was last month (Fulham, Wolves). We have not seen their most-used backline since the win against Southampton at home, that’s priority number one after returning from the International break, getting as many if not all of your backline back fit. The value of Ruben Dias could not be any clearer than it is right now.

Coming later this week is a newsletter looking at the in-tray for Hugo Viana in the summer, what are his immediate problems to solve and where could he make changes to our recruitment?

Next up for Manchester City is Spurs (H) after the International break, on Saturday 23rd November at 17:30 (GMT).

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