Manchester City were in a better position to try and pick up their second win of the current Premier League season and keep up the chase with favorites Liverpool and Arsenal. However, Brighton had different plans and pulled off a spectacular comeback to send their fans into raptures, inflicting a second consecutive defeat on Pep Guardiola's side.
It's worth noting that the Citzens started the match with attacking pressure on their opponents and several chances were created, especially for Erling Haaland. The Norwegian wasted many chances, but after 30 minutes, he finally took advantage of a good move by Omar Marmoush and hit a firm shot past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
After a first half in which Manchester City felt more comfortable building attacking moves, coach Fabian Hurzeler made four changes at the break, which were key to giving Brighton a new tactical outlook. A few minutes later, Lewis Dunk crossed a dangerous ball to the far post and Matheus Nunes awarded a penalty for a raised arm, allowing James Milner to hit the corner to score his first Premiership goal of 2019.
The equalizer allowed Brighton to become even more confident and the hosts began to work the ball around more. There was almost a change in the scoreline right after the break due to a spectacular save by Brajan Gruda from James Trafford's attempted shot, but the big thrill for the fans was in store just before the hour mark.
Exactly in the 89th minute, a fatal Brighton counter-attack ended with Gruda keeping his cool to control the ball in the penalty area before finishing and beating the opposing Trafford goalkeeper, clinching a comeback that will surely be remembered for the rest of the current Premier League season.
Manchester City hit hard at the start of the season
The negative result left Manchester City with just three points from their first three games in the Premier League this season, leaving them in 12th place in the table before the break for the European World Cup qualifiers. Guardiola has a new coaching staff in place, but the immense weakness in defensive transitions remains a major deficiency.