Man City 0-1 Brighton: Yasin Ayari and Bart Verbruggen the heroes in historic win for Seagulls at Etihad
Report and free match highlights as Brighton inflicted Man City's second Premier League loss in the space of a week; Yasin Ayari netted the winner in the first half; the Seagulls are third in the table, within two points of both City and Arsenal
Saturday 31 October 2026 17:35, UK
Manchester City fell to back-to-back Premier League losses for the first time under Enzo Maresca after being undone by buoyant Brighton 1-0 at the Etihad.
The result comes a week on from defeat at Aston Villa, having not suffered consecutive league beatings since August 2025.
Brighton, dumped out of the Carabao Cup on this ground just four days ago, were excellent value in the first half, Yasin Ayari scoring what turned out to be the winner after Matheus Nunes made a mess of his attempted clearance.
But they also had to weather a City onslaught in the second period, matching style with steel and resilience. Maresca's side threw everything forward in search of a breakthrough, with Iliman Ndiaye rattling the crossbar, Erling Haaland going close from a corner and Nunes drawing an athletic save from a busy Bart Verbruggen.
The goalkeeper proved immovable, making seven saves in total.
- As it happened | Teams | Stats
- Live Premier League table | Watch FREE PL highlights
- Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺
Maresca had his hands on his head again when Nico O'Reilly's header flashed wide late on, as City contrived to squander chance after chance, out-creating their visitors overall but unable to make anything stick.
Jack Hinshelwood could have sealed it at the opposite end before Brighton's points were eventually confirmed, the first time they have triumphed at the Etihad. With a club record points total at this stage of a top-flight campaign, Fabian Hurzeler's side look every bit like title contenders, adding another statement victory to their list of achievements after also seeing off Arsenal last month.
Are booming Brighton in title race?
Sky Sports' Laura Hunter at the Etihad:
Brighton's players milked their celebration with the away end. They deserved to. This rise warrants applause - and attention.
Are they in the title race? It's perhaps too early to tell, but by my estimation Fabian Hurzeler has a team with superb harmony, who play with complete tactical clarity. That greatly enhances their chances of doing something special.
Enzo Maresca professed to know exactly what Brighton were going to offer up, having hosted them just four days ago, but he could not devise a plan to stop their flow. City were outbattled in midfield and outrun overall.
If this was a tangible test of Brighton's stomach for the race, they passed with flying colours.
