City outclass Brighton to keep pressure on Arsenal

• Manchester City outclassed Brighton 4-0 on Thursday, closing the gap to one point over leaders Arsenal in the Premier League.
• Kevin De Bruyne scored his first Premier League header in the 14th minute, diving for a curling cross from Kyle Walker.
• Foden scored a brace as Julian Alvarez scored the fourth to put a nail on the game.

Manchester City outclassed Brighton 4-0 on Thursday, closing the gap to one point over leaders Arsenal in the Premier League.

Kevin De Bruyne scored his first Premier League header in the 14th minute, diving for a curling cross from Kyle Walker and looping his incredible attempt over Jason Steele and into the top right corner.

The next eight minutes to put the Citizens comfortably up. Foden first scored from a deflected free kick and then coolly stroked home his second following a blunder in Brighton’s defense.

Just after the hour, Julian Alvarez scored a fourth goal, ending his 10-game goal drought in the Premier League with a close-range strike following some tenacious work down Walker’s right side.

How City outclassed Brighton

Phil Foden scored a brace against Brighton. Photo/ Reuters

Foden led the way for Man City once again this season, and after reaching 24 goals overall—16 of which came in the Premier League—it is hardly surprising to hear the England international’s name mentioned in the Player of the Season discussion.

Foden enjoys playing at the Amex and has already scored six goals in his previous four trips to Brighton’s home stadium. Against the Seagulls, he has scored eight goals in ten outings, both at home and away.

The 23-year-old set up City’s opening goal by holding the ball for a little while before executing a deft pass down the right to Walker, who sent a first-time cross into the penalty area for De Bruyne to score a header.

The Brighton players were a little taken aback when Foden skillfully sidestepped them and won a free kick on the edge of the box. Just before the half-hour mark, City’s No. 47 celebrated scoring his 50th Premier League goal, despite the fact that his 20-yard attempt took a vicious ricochet off the back of Pascal Gross.

The attacker, who was born in Stockport, is just the third player, along with Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland (the latter of whom was injured and missed City’s game), to score 50 goals in the top level while still under 23 under Guardiola.

Taking advantage of Brighton’s attempt to play out from the back, Foden then stopped Valentin Barco’s meek ball on the outskirts of the box and scored with his first-time effort, beating Steele and into the bottom corner.

In addition to keeping a close eye on Thursday’s action, England manager Gareth Southgate was present. He undoubtedly was considering how to get the most out of Foden in his starting lineup in front of Euro 2024.

Brighton’s style of play was their downfall

Phil Foden celebrates with Julian Alvarez. Photo/ Times Colonist

During his 19-month tenure as Brighton‘s manager, Roberto De Zerbi has won several accolades for his appealing style of play, but the team has seldom benefited from following that risk-and-reward strategy in recent months.

Though Brighton’s daring in possession is admirable, their inability to capitalize on mistakes made in and around the penalty box has been compounded by their defeat to Man City, who displayed a strong high press throughout the evening.

With little under 35 minutes remaining in the match, Foden scored his second goal to seal the victory for the Seagulls, who have committed more mistakes leading to goals (nine) than any other Premier League club.

After finishing sixth last season, which was their highest-ever top-flight finish, Brighton has only won six of their past 27 Premier League games due to concerns over De Zerbi’s long-term future. This season, they run the risk of finishing in the bottom half of the table.

Brighton will try to get back on track and rekindle their ambitions of finishing in the top seven when they visit the Vitality Stadium to play Bournemouth on Saturday. Man City will play Nottingham Forest for in next away game.