Premier League champions Manchester City got back to winning ways after defeating Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Premier League
Result: Manchester City 2-1 Brighton and Hove Albion
Date: 21 October 2023
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Pep Guardiola opted to give Stefan Ortega a start in goal as Ederson was rested after his long trip from Brazil during the international break, while John Stones and Rodri were recalled after the loss to Arsenal.
The hosts got off to the perfect start when Jeremy Doku did well to skip past one challenge before pulling the ball back for Julian Alvarez to slam home for the opening goal.
The lead was doubled in the 19th minute when Haaland pounced on a loose ball, charged towards the box and unleashed a powerful strike that sailed by goalkeeper Jason Steele.
Doku was proving to be the Citizens' biggest threat on the park, with Brighton struggling to deal with the Belgian winger on the right side of their defence, most notably veteran James Milner.
Brighton, meanwhile, were unable to get their usual game going in the opening 45 minutes and barely troubled Ortega between the sticks as they were made to pay for their errors at the back earlier in the half.
The Citizens continued to dominate in the second half as they went in search of more goals, but the Seagulls were a lot more solid defensively in the early stages.
The game began to open up in the final 30 minutes as Haaland saw his strike kept out by Steele after some good work by Phil Foden, while Kaoru Mitoma headed into the side-netting at the other end.
Brighton did pull a goal back in the 73rd minute as Mitoma did well to weave his way into the box before his cross deflected into the path of Ansu Fati, who slotted home from close range.
While City were able to hold off Brighton, the game did end on a sour note as defender Manuel Akanji was sent off in second-half stoppage time after picking up his second yellow card of the game.
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