Phil Foden dazzles as unstoppable Man City move with menace towards Premier League summit, they refuse to bask in all they’ve achieved, writes MATT BARLOW
Manchester City has been champion for more than a thousand days. They won the title in May 2021 and on this evidence they are in no mood to relinquish it.
Of all the things about Pep Guardiola and his team, perhaps the most impressive is their drive to keep going. The refusal to enjoy what they have achieved. To deal with the disappointment of Real Madrid’s penalty kick defeat in the Champions League.
They saw Arsenal beat Chelsea five times on Tuesday. They saw Liverpool surrender three points in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday. They responded as champions do. Apparently immune to fear.
Despite the continued absence of Erling Haaland, three goals were scored in the first half. Kevin De Bruyne scored his first Premier League header, Phil Foden added two more to his productive season and Julian Alvarez ended his personal league drought.
City moved menacingly to within a point of the top and have a game in hand. They are at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, where Arsenal enter into a local dispute with Tottenham Hotspur.
Man City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne celebrates after opening the scoring against Brighton
De Bruyne’s diving header went over goalkeeper Steele in the 17th minute
Phil Foden’s deflected free-kick doubled Man City’s lead in the 26th minute
City striker Foden scored their third goal in the 34th minute after a defensive slip
The unprecedented fourth title in a row is in full swing. Of course, the debate over the 115 charges of financial misconduct will rage on, but it would be an epic feat of sporting endurance if they pull it off.
One that was certainly appreciated by Russ Cook, the Brighton runner known as Hardest Geezer, who ran almost 10,000 miles to cover the entire length of Africa in 352 days. Cook raised more than a million pounds for charity and was back in Sussex to watch the City machine overwhelm his hometown club.
Exhausted by injuries, Brighton staggers towards the finish. This was a tough campaign, including their first experience with the complications of European competition. However, they still pose a challenge for the top half and a match at the Amex Stadium is still seen as one that could be tricky, even for those challenging for the title.
De Zerbi handed a first Premier League start to Valentin Barco, a teenage left-back who arrived under the noses of Manchester City from Boca Juniors for £7.8 million in January.
Barco played on the left of a defensive five, with Jakub Moder stepping into midfield as they won possession. The Zerbi attempted to outwit Pep Guardiola with a fluid, shape-shifting formation, with the forwards moving wide to create space for the runners in midfield.
That all seemed fine, as the home team started confidently. Danny Welbeck forced Ederson into an early save and they controlled the game for the first fifteen minutes.
City quickly found some rhythm. The first chance fell to Nathan Aké, who fired over as he slid in at the back post to meet Foden’s teasing free-kick.
It was Foden who pulled the strings for the opener, probing from left to right along the edge of the Brighton box before releasing Kyle Walker, who cut back a cross towards the unmarked De Bruyne. He launched himself at the ball, met it perfectly in mid-flight and watched his first Premier League header find its way into the top corner.
If the first was an aesthetic treat, City’s second was laced with happiness. Foden was again the catalyst, with a burst of pace and a fall as he reached the penalty area. He drove one tackle and Lewis Dunk tapped him with a hand on the waist, but Foden kept going and appeared to slip rather than dive on the edge of the box.
Still, referee Jarred Gillett called it a foul. He gave City most of what they asked for in the first half, much to the frustration of the home crowd. Foden headed for goal and his shot hit Pascal Gross on the back and went past Jason Steele.
Brighton had barely overcome their sense of injustice when they gifted the visitors the third. Tapping around complicated one-touch passes in their own area, it was rookie Barco who was pressured into an error.
Bernardo Silva pounced and quickly moved it to Foden, who swept his second past Steele with his left foot. From their positive start, Brighton found themselves three behind within 34 minutes.
They might be thinking about a Dunk opportunity when the game was tied at 1-0. Dunk climbed unopposed for a corner, but his header was too close to Ederson. Still, with City in such a destructive mood, it would probably have made minimal difference.
Julian Alvarez put the ball in the net for the fourth goal after a dazzling run from Kyle Walker
Man City goalkeeper Ederson dives at the feet of Brighton striker Joao Pedro
Pedro enters the area after an argument with Ederson and Josko Gvardiol
‘Hardest Geezer’ Russ Cook with other Brighton fans before Thursday night’s match
Alvarez, without a goal in the Premier League since January, made it 4-0 with a long-ball goal. Ederson hit it 80 meters to Walker in full flight. Steele charged off his line in an attempt to smother the chance at Walker’s feet, but the ball fell out.
There were claims for handball. Steele thought the rebound had caught Walker’s arm and was redirected to Alvarez, who scored. There was no VAR save. And no penalty from referee Gillett as Joao Pedro tumbled into the area shortly afterwards.
It was Brighton’s 100th Premier League defeat and it came against the team that inflicted the first defeat in 2017. They probably won’t like the symmetry but will continue with City. An unstoppable force.