Foden double inspires Man City to 4-1 win at Brighton

Brighton, October 24 (BNA): Manchester City scored a 4-1 landslide victory over its host Brighton & Hove Albion thanks to a double by English midfielder Phil Foden in the English Premier League match on Saturday.

After losing their first seven Premier League games against City by a total score of 21-2, in the last meeting between the two teams in May, Brighton struggled from a 2-0 down to win 3-2.

But, despite making their best-ever start to a top-flight season this season, Brighton had no response to the City machine in the first half, with the visitors having done the job within 31 minutes. Reuters reported that the win lifted them to second place in the standings.

Pep Guardiola’s team scored Brighton’s goal from the start, taking the lead in the 13th minute through Ilkay Gundogan after a mistake by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

City quickly cemented their lead as Foden secured his first match, guiding Jack Grealish’s square pass into the net in the 28th minute, before the 21-year-old got the finishing touch to a Gabriel Jesus shot to make it 3-0. after minutes.

The visitors lifted their feet from the gas in the second half with a penalty kick by Alexis McAllister nine minutes from the end to give Brighton a consoling goal.

City’s substitute Riyad Mahrez put the ice on the cake with the fourth goal in stoppage time, to achieve a victory that lifted the champions to 20 points, two points ahead of Liverpool, who visit Manchester United on Sunday, and two points from Chelsea.

Brighton remain in fourth place with 15 points from nine matches.

“I know what it means to come here against this team, against this coach, against this stadium and to win here,” Guardiola said.

“It’s a good lesson that in football you have to play with the ball and when you don’t have it you suffer. It’s very difficult to play against Brighton for 90 minutes. Against another opponent, the game ends (at 3.0) against this team it’s not over.”

Brighton’s Luis Dunk had already had to do an acrobatic leveling on the goal line to keep City at bay before Gundogan broke the score, as Bernardo Silva smashed the ball past the German after Sanchez failed to collect a cross.

Brighton had only conceded six goals in eight league games prior to the City visit, but they quickly sent two more thanks to Foden.

City finished the first half with nine shots on target – more than any other team in a Premier League game this season – but it was Brighton who started stronger after the break, with Leandro Trossard cleverly saving Ederson.

The hosts got a deserved goal through substitute Mac Alister, after Ederson Enoch Mwepo missed in the penalty area, and Foden missed another opportunity to score his first hat-trick for City before breaking through Mahrez to score the fourth.