PEP ENJOYS TOUCH OF LUCK
Two deflected goals and De Bruyne class lift City
MANCHESTER CITY 3 BRIGHTON 0
IT took time to arrive and when it did a couple of deflections helped them on their way – but Manchester City retook the summit from Liverpool with an ultimately comfortable win over Brighton.
Goals from Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva fuelled by a driving man-of-the-match performance from Kevin De Bruyne saw City restore a narrow lead of a single point over Jurgen Klopp’s men.
There were none of the fireworks or flourish of their main rivals’ hammering of Manchester United 24 hours earlier, but City will rightly say the points remain the same however the victory comes.
This was a test of nerve which City passed comfortably in the end, albeit after deflections for the first two goals and with injury worries over Nathan Ake and John Stones, who were both substituted.
Guardiola had welcomed back De Bruyne, for his 300th appearance for City and Ilkay Gundogan after the pair sat out the FA Cup semi-final defeat by Liverpool on Saturday.
And he had cause to thank the former for a stand-out performance, eventually breaking down a stubborn Brighton who had reached the halfway mark level.
It came as no surprise to Guardiola that Brighton would prove difficult to break down.
Graham Potter’s side were ranked sixth in the league on away form, shared points at Anfield and took all three from both Tottenham and Arsenal in their previous two league matches.
Here they were organised and committed, closing ranks well but they were aided by City looking a little short of ideas, a little flat and again lacking a focal point up front.
Mahrez might have put the home side ahead in the 16th minute had he reacted with a little more zip when Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez picked him out unmarked just on the edge of the area when trying to clear upfield.
The City forward took a second touch when he should have had a shot and Moises Caicedo rushed in with a well-timed sliding tackle to block his effort.
The Brighton midfielder was on hand again halfway through the first half, robbing De Bruyne as he prepared to unleash on the edge of the area.
A Bernardo chip saved by Sanchez and a Gundogan shot blocked by Lewis Dunk added to the sense of frustration building around the Etihad.
Guardiola was forced into a change at half-time, Nathan Ake sustaining a knock and replaced by Ruben Dias on his first start in seven weeks.
It took De Bruyne to blow the fear away with a bursting run from just inside his own half that was finished off, with a couple of bits of luck, by Mahrez.
De Bruyne deserves credit for staying on his feet as he charged through despite attentions from Caicedo. He got the ball through to Mahrez via a deflection off Dunk and the forward’s shot skipped off the leg of Joel Veltman over Sanchez.
City deserved that bit of luck but they were to get another in the 65th minute which effectively put the game to bed, Foden hitting a shot from 25 yards after a corner from the right that took another wicked deflection off Enock Mwepu on its way in.
Bernardo added a third for the defending champions on 82 minutes, this time without any need for a deflection, when sweeping in a shot from the edge of the area.