David Hytner was at the Amex tonight. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
Roberto De Zerbi’s turn. “City are one of the best teams in the world … they played very well … I’m sorry for the first two goals … they were unlucky … if you make mistakes you can concede … you have to analyse the whole season, to see how many points we made playing the ball [out from the back].”
Pep also insists that Liverpool are still in the title race. “What happened to Liverpool, two games against Crystal Palace and Everton, can happen to us. Can happen to Arsenal. Nobody is safe from that.”
Pep Guardiola speaks to Sky. “The statement is three points … we know what we have to do to fight to be champion … we have been here in the past but that doesn’t mean it is going to happen … we have to do the things to make it happen … in the first half we found the right rhythm … we punished them … Brighton away is really tough, all Premier League teams know it … it’s difficult to catch [Arsenal’s goal difference] … the margin is so big … they score a lot of goals … one game at a time … we recover, then Nottingham Forest.”
Kevin De Bruyne talks to Sky Sports. “It was a good game … we played really well in the first half … I don’t know about a statement … the only thing we can do is try to perform as well as we did today … the only way I could reach [for the first goal] was jumping for the ball … I’ll take it but it’s obviously not something I’m really good at!”
Phil Foden’s there too. “Brighton are a very challenging team … they play beautiful football … we grew into the game … the first half was frightening, the way we attacked … I see myself centrally … I’ve moved more inside this year … it’s where I want to be … I feel like I can score a lot of goals and create things.”
An unprecedented fourth English title in a row is very much on for Manchester City. Five more wins, and there’s nothing Arsenal or Liverpool can do to stop them. Their run-in: Nottingham Forest (a), Wolverhampton Wanderers (h), Fulham (a), Tottenham Hotspur (a), West Ham United (h). With Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden in this mood, it’s difficult to see anyone stopping them, even if Spurs are a bit of a bogey team.
Arsenal made a title statement on Tuesday night against Chelsea; City have responded with one of their own at the Amex. A couple of controversial decisions went their way – the award of the free kick that led to the second goal after Phil Foden slipped, the decision to wave play on after Josko Gvardiol clattered into the back of Joao Pedro in the penalty box – but City were still fully deserving of victory. Phil Foden notched another two goals, Julian Alvarez ended a barren scoring run, and Kevin De Bruyne planted a world-class diving header into the top right for the pick of the bunch. The champions are beginning to purr on the run-in, as they always do. Arsenal will look over their shoulders with a shudder tonight.
FULL TIME: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-4 Manchester City
The champions close the gap on leaders Arsenal in style!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 34 | 56 | 77 |
| 2 | Man City | 33 | 48 | 76 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 34 | 41 | 74 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 34 | 21 | 66 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 32 | 16 | 60 |
90 min +4: Alvarez slips Doku into the box down the left. Doku opens his body and aims a sidefoot towards the far corner. Steele kicks it clear. Five would have been harsh on Brighton.
90 min +3: Barco continues to show promise down the left. His cross, intended for O’Mahony in the middle, forces Ake to head behind for a corner. The set piece is cleared. It’s been an eventful evening for the 19-year-old Argentinian.
90 min +1: Ake fouls Joao Pedro near the centre circle. A free kick. The referee’s whistle is met with a barrage of ironic cheering. Brighton fans definitely of the opinion that referee Jarred Gillett has done a number on them tonight.
90 min: There will be five added minutes.
89 min: Igor leaves a frustrated one on the back of Doku. Earlier in the game, that might have warranted a booking. Of course, earlier in the game, Igor may not have been so frustrated as to make the challenge.
88 min: A lot of Brighton fans have decided to beat the rush at the final whistle. Blue Moon the very dominant note at the Amex now.
87 min: City pop it around the back, waiting for the clock to do its thing.
85 min: Joao Pedro slips Igor into space down the left and keeps going into the box. Igor cuts back. Joao Pedro slaps a shot wide left from six yards. That was a lovely move with a horrible end. “Four-nil, well that looks like City have probably won this game,” writes Charles Antaki. “But they have five to go, and if Arsenal can somehow arrange that those are against Brazil 1970, Holland 1988, Barcelona 1992 and 2010 and a random Stoke City team to make it sporting, then nothing is over yet.”
83 min: Igor and Barco combine to dispossess Doku, the latter whipping in low for Adingra, who can’t control on the penalty spot. De Zerbi applauds young Barco, who made a mistake in the first half but has kept going gamely ever since, showing impressively once or twice in attack.
81 min: City are easing their way towards the finishing post. A sense that if both teams could declare, they would.
79 min: … and eventually Doku replaces Rodri. “It is disheartening when a team with an enormous talent advantage also gets all the calls,” writes Joe Pearson. “That non-penalty was ridiculous, but also seemingly inevitable. Sigh.”
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78 min: City set about making a triple change. Lewis replaces Silva, Gomez comes on for Walker, who takes an age to saunter across to give Ake the captain’s armband …
76 min: Baleba is booked for a cynical tug on Nunes’s shirt, the City midfielder having spun him elegantly.
75 min: Welbeck cuts in from the right and larrups a wild shot over the bar. That’s his last contribution to this evening’s match, as he makes way for 19-year-old debutant striker Mark O’Mahony.
73 min: Grealish and Nunes come on for Foden and De Bruyne.
72 min: VAR checks, and confirms the onfield decision. Gvardiol definitely made contact with a barge in the back. Joao Pedro then went over theatrically, it’s true, but there was a subsequent nick on the ankle as well. It was surely a penalty. On the touchline, Roberto De Zerbi reacts with class: a wry raised eyebrow. The Brighton fans are a bit more blunt, accusing the officials of onanism.
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70 min: Offiah chariots his way down the right, a scintillating run that beats three men. Then Joao Pedro takes over, bursting into the box before being clipped from behind by Gvardiol. It’s surely a penalty, but the referee shows no interest in awarding one.
68 min: A rare Rodri misplaced pass. Adingra has Joao Pedro to his left, with City light at the back, but the ball across is no good and Joao Pedro falls over.
66 min: Foden is barged over by Van Hecke, who accidentally clips the stricken City man on the back of the head as he falls. Van Hecke offers an apologetic hand, though Foden’s not happy about it. We play on.
64 min: There are now only eight goals between Manchester City and leaders Arsenal. You never know, it could make a difference come the end of the season. To this end, Welbeck slips Adingra into the box down the right channel. Gvardiol comes across to block the shot and the ball pings back off the Brighton man and out for a goal kick.
GOAL! Brighton 0-4 Manchester City (Alvarez 62)
Ederson launches it long. Walker tears free down the inside-right channel, unnoticed by Brighton. He chests the ball into the box and chops past the back-tracking Barco. He wants to shoot but miscontrols. Steele attempts to snaffle, but Walker slides in, the ball breaking left to Alvarez, who slots into the bottom left of the unguarded net.
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60 min: Alvarez looks for the top-right corner from the far-left edge of the Brighton box. So close to a spectacular goal but the ball clears the bar by inches.
59 min: Foden slips Alvarez into space down the middle. His low drive is straight at Steele, who makes a meal of claiming but does so after a fashion and before anybody can latch onto the loose ball.
57 min: Adingra crosses from the byline to the right of goal. The ball hits Ake on the arm, which was raised but still next to his torso. Brighton claim for a penalty, but again the referee isn’t interested. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
56 min: Igor comes on at left-back for … not the 19-year-old debutant Barco, but Moder. Barco is moved up the field.
55 min: City with more of that sterile domination. Speaking of which, Richard Hirst replies to one of our half-time correspondents: “I for one, Mr Tumble. Why do people take against both success and professionalism? I’m not a Man City supporter, but I’m happy to say that Guardiola is a genius who has raised the bar to a level that some clearly find uncomfortable.”
54 min: Barco chops inside from the left and feeds Joao Pedro, who bustles his way into the box and a shooting position. Ederson is quickly off his line to parry the snapshot away from danger.
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52 min: Adingra fouls Alvarez out on the left. Foden swings a vicious free kick into the mixer. Joao Pedro toe-pokes behind for a corner with Rodri lurking. Rodri gets his head on the end of the resulting corner, but not to any great effect. City are in the mood for more, perhaps sensing an opportunity to chip away at Arsenal’s superior goal difference.
51 min: Moder’s clearance pings off the nearby Rodri and briefly threatens to loop hysterically over Steele. Thankfully for Brighton initial worries are unfounded: it goes nowhere near the goal and out for a corner.
49 min: Rodri definitely tugged on Gross’s arm, albeit softly, before the midfielder went over. On Sky, co-commentator Alan Smith thinks it should have been a penalty. The Brighton fans are certainly incensed, the non-decision coming in the wake of the Foden slip and free-kick award that led to the second goal.
47 min: VAR has a very quick check, and apparently the tug on Gross’s arm “did not meet the threshold”. It would have been hellishly soft, but one you can file under Seen Them Given. Nobody knows anything.
46 min: Adingra is immediately into the action, romping after a long pass down the right. But the flag pops up for offside. Brighton come again, Gross dribbling into the box from the left before Rordi grabs his right arm. Gross goes over. He wants a penalty. The referee’s not interested.
Brighton get the second half underway, having made two changes: Offiah and Adingra replace Veltman and the invisible Lallana. “I’ve never lived in Liverpool, but I spent a few years in Finsbury Park,” begins Julian Menz. “The mood must be as dark as the name suggests down the Blackstock Rd and Arsenal Tavern. (Recently renamed. Why? I’ll never know.) City are doing what they do, and will make sure Arsenal and Liverpool are punished for their lapses.”
Half-time postbag. “Brighton must now find their inner Coventry” – Dave Smith
“I do wonder how many people will miss Guardiola outside of the club when he goes? I don’t think many. I think quite a lot will be glad to see the back of him. Will be interesting to see which league he’ll sterilise when he does” – Mr Tumble
“Talking of gentle warmdowns, I’m on my third can of cheap lager already after drinking a shed load of super-strength ales, and the odd whisky, celebrating Dundee United’s imminent return to the big league last Saturday. Try doing that, Russ Cook” – Simon McMahon
HALF TIME: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-3 Manchester City
City are cruising their way into second spot. Here’s how it stands at the moment.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 34 | 56 | 77 |
| 2 | Man City | 33 | 47 | 76 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 34 | 41 | 74 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 34 | 21 | 66 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 32 | 16 | 60 |
45 min +3: Foden barrels clear down the left and looks for Alvarez in the middle. If the pass makes it, Alvarez is slotting home. But Moder slides in to hook behind for a corner. Then the flag goes up for offside. But had the goal been scored, VAR might have overturned that offside decision, because it looked like Foden had started his run in his own half. It was close. Anyway, the point is moot.
45 min +1: Walker runs at full pelt down the right but the full debutant Barco does well to hold him up and force him to turn tail. That should give the 19-year-old succour after a tough first half.
45 min: De Bruyne dribbles hard down the inside-right channel and into the box. A snapshot is blocked and deflected wide right. Foden takes. Alvarez attempts a curler towards the top right from the edge of the box but that’s blocked too. There will be three additional minutes of this first half.
43 min: The City fans apart, there’s not much of an atmosphere, with Brighton’s goose already cooked. A few ironic cheers and whistles as Pep fails to control a ball dropping into his technical area.
41 min: Veltman goes long. Ederson races out of his box and blooters the ball straight back. We heart the 1980s.
39 min: Dunk attempts to spring Welbeck clear down the inside-right channel with a forensic pass from deep. It’s a decent move, but the striker takes off a fraction too soon. Up pops the flag. “So Scott, was it more Houchen or van Persie?” writes Gary Naylor, who may have a point about the latter.
37 min: Barco, trying to make amends for his part in Brighton’s downfall, launches a pearler goalwards from a tight angle on the left. Walker blocks. Barco has another go. That’s deflected out for a corner, from which nothing occurs. A little better from Brighton. Baby steps as they attempt to find a route back.
35 min: Veltman skittles Foden, then whacks the ball away in frustration. Into the book he goes. It’s all going wrong for Brighton, who are being ruthlessly smothered by City.
GOAL! Brighton 0-3 Manchester City (Foden 34)
Brighton get too clever playing out from their own box. Barco, Steele and Baleba ping it around in triangles. City press, sending five men into the Brighton box. Brighton nearly escape, but a mistake is inevitable. Barco passes straight to Silva, and the deflection falls to Foden, who lashes an immediate shot across Steele and into the bottom left.
Updated
33 min: “De Bruyne’s new hair gave the angle for the ball to go over the keeper’s dive,” argues Paul Ruffley. “Old hair, no goal.” And you thought the debate regarding the restorative qualities of Sean Dyche’s tracksuit was tenuous enough.
31 min: Kovacic slips Walker into the box on the right. Walker fizzes a low ball into the six-yard box. Steele bravely flops onto it, with City boots in the immediate environs. The champions pressing hard for a third that would surely kill the game off in short order.
30 min: The early speculative rake from Welbeck apart, Brighton simply haven’t got going. City haven’t allowed them to. “I think it’s unfair that a player as good as Kevin de Bruyne is with his feet, can also score flying headers,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Humans should have flaws.”
28 min: The away fans giving it plenty of Blue Moon. Speaking of terrace favourites, here’s Peter Walker, retired chess correspondent to the Ilford Recorder group of newspapers: “You mention the ‘chess-heads’ in your recent paragraph. The real geeky chess buffs may have noted a chess-related link to today’s affairs: the song Sussex by the Sea, played by the band earlier, was written by one Mr. Ward-Higgs, who was himself a bit of a chess player and donated the Ward-Higgs trophy which is competed for annually by British counties’ first teams at correspondence chess - where moves are sent by post! Essex have a very good record in this event.”
GOAL! Brighton 0-2 Manchester City (Foden 26)
… but it’s Foden who takes it! He sends it towards the bottom left. The ball pings off the back of Gross, and into the middle of the net, past a wrong-footed Steele, who was heading off in the pre-deflection direction. City making a statement here!
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25 min: Foden dribbles hard down the inside-right channel and falls just to the side of the D. It looks like a slip, but the referee says he’s been clipped. A free kick in a very dangerous position. The De Bruyne peepers light up.
23 min: De Bruyne fancies it tonight, and drives at the Brighton back line. He takes a shot from the edge of the D. It’s deflected wide right for a corner. The set piece drops to Alvarez, who chests down on the edge of the box and sends a half-volley wide right. Brighton hanging on a bit here.
21 min: Some header by De Bruyne, though. There haven’t been many better goals this season. He launched himself at the ball, sending it over the despairing lunge of Steele and into the top corner. The Brighton keeper must wonder how on earth he managed to score from there. Sensational.
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19 min: De Bruyne sends Alvarez storming down the right. Alvarez reaches the box and sends a screaming low drive across Steele and inches wide of the left-hand post. So close to a quick-fire second.
18 min: That was a hell of a goal. A baptism of fire for Brighton left-back Valentín Barco, 19, making his full debut tonight. Brighton respond through Joao Pedro, who wins a corner down the left. Dunk wins a header but plants it straight at Ederson. Still, that’s a decent bounce-back from the hosts.
GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Manchester City (De Bruyne 17)
Foden slips Walker into space down the right. Walker cuts back from the byline. De Bruyne, rushing into the box, launches himself at the ball, Keith Houchen style … and sends an outrageous flying header looping into the top-right corner! Wow!
Updated
15 min: Baleba skittles Kovacic, 30 yards out on the left. Foden sends a long out-swinger into the box. Ake springs the Brighton back line and meets the dropping ball, 12 yards out, with a telescopic leg. The ball is always heading over the bar. It was a chance that required a hell of a finish … but a chance nonetheless.
13 min: Should Brighton lose tonight, it’d be their 100th defeat in the Premier League. Their first in the competition, back in August 2017, came against … no prizes … Manchester City.
12 min: City are in no rush whatsoever. It’s one for the chess-heads right now.
10 min: City continue to stroke it around patiently.
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8 min: Now Steele executes a glorious drag-back to fox Alvarez in the box. He’s in confident mood tonight.
7 min: City slow things down with some of the old sterile domination. Then suddenly a long pass down the left. Steele races out of his goal and gets to the ball before Alvarez, then plays a cute exchange with Dunk to get Brighton out of trouble and put an end to the City attack.
5 min: Joao Pedro steals the ball in midfield and races into the City half. He’s got options on either side but takes the wrong one, passing to Veltman on his right. Veltman runs into trouble immediately and the counter peters out. “Greetings from Virginia,” begins Eagle Brosi. “The quality of the American league is so poor that I’m usually happy to catch any EPL match but I find Pep without Jack Grealish to be so so boring. There’s something so horribly funny about watching Jack, with his tiny shinpads, run into his opponent, fall down and see the ref just get totally conned. I guess spending the preseason drunk isn’t wise? But I miss the only likeable/watchable thing about this City team. Here’s hoping he gets at least a 15-minute cameo.”
3 min: Gross makes a nuisance of himself down the inside-left channel. The ball breaks to Welbeck, arriving on the overlap. Welbeck lashes a low first-time effort towards the bottom right, but Ederson fields it at full stretch. A bright start by both teams.
2 min: It’s not long before City are on the attack, and Alvarez probes down the left. He doesn’t get any change out of Veltman, who clears. “Liverpool’s season may have become as appetising as days-old leftover fish and chips, but I’m not ready to bin it just yet,” writes Peter Oh. “I wish I had more to count on than Adam Lallana conjuring a spectacle-crushing attacking spectacle today, but at this point I’ll take any tiny scrap of hope I can get.”
City get the ball rolling. Watching in the stand, having been introduced on the pitch a few minutes ago, Brighton fan Russ Cook. Last weekend Cook ran the London Marathon in the immediate wake of completing a 9,940-mile run along the entire length of Africa. A gentle warm-down, apparently.
The teams are out! Brighton in their “classic Albion blue and white stripes”, Manchester City in a third-choice back-and-blue “electric spark pattern powered by the team’s lightning fast style of play and the atmosphere it creates between the fans, players and staff”. Puma putting a bit more effort into their press release there than Nike. We’ll be off after a quick blast of Sussex by the Sea.
Roberto De Zerbi speaks to Sky. “We have to play well … we have to make points … we are fighting to reach another season in European position and it is not finished yet for us … Pep is the best coach … it is very tough playing against City and Pep … we are Brighton … we play with courage … we try to play a good game … it has been a very tough season … especially from January it is difficult to choose the first 11 … we have the quality enough to play well to fight for ourselves, for our fans and our club.”
Pep talks to Sky. “Madrid and Chelsea were really tough … we had two days rest … step by step, we had to be ready … it is important to be ready and fresh … the challenge is to win the next game … we have won a lot of titles in the Premier League because we were thinking just of the next game … to think further away from that is a big mistake … [Roberto De Zerbi] is brave … he will impose his game … they are just exceptional for so many reasons … his teams are so attractive … even with injuries the way he plays is recognisable … I like to watch it … I am hoping they suffer a little bit!”
Brighton make three changes to the side that drew 1-1 at Burnley 12 days ago. Adam Lallana, Valentin Barco and goalkeeper Jason Steele are in; Simon Adingra and Bart Verbruggen drop to the bench, while Pervis Estupinan is injured, his season done.
Manchester City are still without the injured Erling Haaland. They also make a change in goal, in the wake of their 1-0 FA Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea: Ederson comes in for Stefan Ortega. Elsewhere, Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol replace the benched John Stones and Jack Grealish.
The teams
Brighton & Hove Albion: Steele, Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk, Barco, Gross, Baleba, Lallana, Moder, Joao Pedro, Welbeck.
Subs: Verbruggen, Igor, Webster, Enciso, Adingra, Fati, Buonanotte, Offiah, O’Mahony.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodri, Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Foden, Alvarez.
Subs: Dias, Stones, Grealish, Doku, Ortega, Gomez, Matheus Luiz, Bobb, Lewis.
Referee: Jarred Gillett (Australia).
TEAM NEWS! 🚨 Here's our starting XI to face @ManCity in the @PremierLeague. 👀📝
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) April 25, 2024
📲 https://t.co/S3j1TIedJv // #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/fbS6ZACOin
Your City team to face Brighton! 🩵
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 25, 2024
XI | Ederson, Walker (C), Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden, Alvarez
SUBS | Ortega, Dias, Stones, Grealish, Doku, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/PJGsBKmbHv
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Preamble
… and then there were two. OK, it’s true that Liverpool aren’t officially out of the title race yet, but … c’mon.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 34 | 56 | 77 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 34 | 41 | 74 |
| 3 | Man City | 32 | 44 | 73 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 34 | 21 | 66 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 32 | 16 | 60 |
Manchester City are still very much in it, though, their destiny in their own hands. But Arsenal have points on the board, a bumper goal difference and the wind behind, so if the champions are going to win a record-breaking fourth title in a row, City really can’t afford any slip-ups as they hit the final turn. You’d expect them to get the job done tonight, given they’ve beaten Brighton 11 times in the last 13 meetings … but the other two matches were a 1-1 draw and a 3-2 defeat at the Amex, and those came in two of their last three visits. So nothing’s certain, especially not at the Business End when the nerves start to jangle. Arsenal fans (and overly optimistic Liverpool ones) are all Seagulls tonight. Kick-off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
