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.
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.
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