THE NOTEBOOK: Enciso has a screamer in his locker and Dunk given night off from marking Haaland
THE NOTEBOOK: Brighton hot shot Julio Enciso has a screamer in his locker, Lewis Dunk gets a night off from marking Erling Haaland… and Mystery of City’s injured stars after title celebrations
- Enciso scored a stunner against Man City, just like he did in the win over Chelsea
- The champions were without Grealish, Laporte and Akanji due to injuries
- Dunk fell out of the starting eleven for the first time since February last year
Julio Enciso’s stunning equalizer cemented Brighton’s place in next season’s Europa League as Manchester City’s Premier League win after 12 games was halted by a thrilling 1-1 draw.
The 19-year-old Paraguay striker unleashed a thunderous, dodging effort into the top right corner from 25 yards seven minutes before the break to mathematically guarantee Albion sixth.
Phil Foden put the newly crowned champion ahead at Amex Stadium with his fifth goal in as many starts against the Seagulls.
But despite bringing back a host of big names, Pep Guardiola saw his formidable side drop points for the first time since February 18 after Erling Haaland’s header was disallowed in the 79th minute as VAR saw a shirt pulled on Levi Colwill .
ISAAN KHAN from Mail Sport takes a look at some things you may have missed.
Julio Enciso scored a stunner against Man City, just like he did in the win over Chelsea
Enciso has a screamer in his locker
After 38 minutes, Julio Enciso’s eyes lit up at the vast amount of space outside the Manchester City area.
A shot that ended up with an arrow in the top right corner was the result. It’s a gun he clearly has in the safe.
Case in point: his screamer, of a similar nature, against Chelsea in April to win 2-1.
Mystery of City’s Wounded Stars
Pep Guardiola said before the game that “a lot of players got injured – four, five players.” Among the missing were Jack Grealish, Aymeric Laporte and Manuel Akanji.
One had to wonder: how did they get hurt? Dancing, drinking or during the field invasion on Sunday?
On the bright side, at least Erling Haaland made the cut. Those silky sky blue pajamas he wore on Sunday night must have healing properties included in the price, remember.
The pre-match TV screens showed the home side at their imperious best on their way to qualifying for European football.
Of course, the victories over Arsenal and Southampton could not be missed.
The 5-1 and 4-1 defeats of Everton and Newcastle respectively? Nowhere in sight.
Lewis Dunk was left out of the starting line-up for the first time since February last year
Dunk got a night off
After receiving his first England call-up since November 2018, Lewis Dunk was left out of the Brighton starting eleven for the first time since February last year.
The centre-back will compete for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers, but was on the Brighton bench on Wednesday night.
A well-deserved break from marking City’s danger man Haaland – Dunk will have had worse days.