Shock sunshine in Manchester – and nearly a surprise Brighton result to match
Saturday afternoon in late October and the sun is shining in Manchester according to BBC Radio Sussex. That came as something of a shock. If Brighton were to win away at Manchester City, it would be an even bigger surprise.
There was a reminder before kick off at the Etihad Stadium though that surprises are possible. Liverpool lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the lunchtime game, the same Forest who Brighton had outplayed on Tuesday evening. Based on the performance from midweek at the Amex, I was sure the Albion could put up a great fight.
The Albion team showed no changes from the 0-0 draw with Forest. Roberto De Zerbi continues to keep faith in the same players who have drawn two and lost two so far as he still awaits his first win as Brighton manager.
Aston Villa gave us a reminder of the pressure Premier League managers are under when immediately after defeat at Fulham on Thursday night, they sacked Steven Gerrard. The sooner De Zerbi gets that victory, the better.
The familiar sound of Hey Jude rang around the Etihad Stadium before kick off, followed by Blue Moon. Brighton were playing in their crimson away strip and made a start almost as bright as their kit, keeping City at bay for the first 10 minutes according to Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall.
All you could hear over the radio were Albion supporters cheering. The fans were giving all they had to give and it sounded great coming across the airwaves.
Danny Welbeck had a good early chance when Ederson had a howler, clearing straight to the Brighton striker. Welbeck lobbed the ball back towards goal but it was just off target. Another good chance had gone begging, as too many have done recently.
Aspinall pointed out that Brighton were making City man-to-man. They were paying particularly close attention to Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, although the difficulty of the task was shown when Haaland escaped and was brought down in the box by Robert Sanchez. City’s penalty appeals were rejected.
Haaland scored shortly after to make it 1-0, knocking Adam Webster our the way in the buildup to the goal. The television commentators said it was “a little shove”. I don’t think so. It was more like Aspinall described it, a forearm smash which should have been a Brighton free kick preventing Haaland netting.
City had a series of moves buoyed by taking the lead. At one point, it sounded like they were destined to score until Lewis Dunk made a great block out for a corner.
The second City goal was nearly as questionable as the first. It arrived on 43 minutes with Haaland striking a penalty awarded when Bernardo Silva felt Pascal Gross’ hands in his back and then fell over Dunk’s foot.
Aspinall stated Brighton were 2-0 down at half time because of two very poor decisions. On another day, it would be Man City 0-0 Brighton and the Albion and De Zerbi would be praised for holding the champions for 45 minutes.
Tariq Lamptey came on at half time to see if he could make a difference. Sanchez kept Riyad Mahrez from scoring early on and then with seven minutes of the second half played, Leandro Trossard scored a blinder.
Trossard cut in down the City right and hit one which Ederson at full stretch could not get close to at his near post. When you see it on television for the first time, it comes as such a surprise to see Trossard shoot from there. No wonder Ederson was caught out.
Alexis Mac Allister next had a shot fired high over the crossbar. Great work from Mac Allister until the finish. Brighton will need to do better against Kepa Arrizabalaga next, the Chelsea goalkeeper who has looked transformed under Graham Potter.
Aymeric Laporte headed wide of Sanchez’s post from a corner and so the score remained 2-1 going into the final 20 minutes.
A great Gross flick sent Trossard away moving like an express train towards Ederson. Trossard got into the City box and had Welbeck in the middle. Welbeck was waiting for the pass but it never came, instead Trossard shot and Ederson made the deflection.
Then of course City scored to make it 3-1. De Bruyne hit a great shot with 15 minutes remaining. Brighton had done well enough and have a history of late goals to make us think they might get another one, but it did not happen this time.
The way the Albion played was a credit to them and there were a lot of social media comments afterwards from City fans saying Brighton were opposition seen this year at the Etihad. That is a big compliment.
Now attention turns to next Saturday against Chelsea. The Albion sit ninth in the Premier League, still a good position but a win is needed soon if Brighton are to hang onto the spot in the top 10 they have occupied all season.
Who better to break the run against than Chelsea? Three points would be a spectacular result and there is no reason we cannot achieve it with the way the team played even in defeat at City. Up the Albion!
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
Thank you to everyone who was purchased my book covering the 2021-22 season, The Seagulls Best Ever Season. It can be found on Amazon at this link.
