Brighton vs Man City highlights: Reaction as Guardiola sends title race warning to Arsenal
Pep Guardiola’s men can close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the table
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Manchester City kept their hunt for an unprecedented fourth successive title on track with a completely dominant 4-0 win at Brighton.
After securing their place in the FA Cup final, with a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday, Pep Guardiola’s team continued their title challenge in emphatic fashion.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring after just 16 minutes with a stunning header, before Phil Foden netted his 50th Premier League goal just after the half hour mark.
The England international added his second shortly afterwards and Julian Alvarez wrapped up the scoring with a well-timed fourth.
While Brighton might feel aggrieved that they did not have two penalties. There was one shout as Gross was pulled back inside the box, and a second for a clumsy foul by Gvardiol on Joao Pedro, but VAR did not extensively review the deicisons, or send the referee to the monitor.
City are still the favourites to lift the trophy as they still have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta’s side and only trail by one point.
After securing European football for the first time in the club’s history last year, the Seagulls are still in with a chance of repeating that feat, although their chances took a significant dent with the heavy defeat.
Follow all the action below plus get the latest odds and Brighton vs Man City predictions here.
Brighton vs Man City
“Brighton away, if you put it in my calendar, is one of the toughest ones for the way we play,” says Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, reported by BBC Sport
“[It gets] harder. My admiration is growing every season. They’ve had a lot of problems, important players were sold like [loanee Levi] Colwill, [Moises] Caicedo, [Alexis] Mac Allister. They were really important players.
“They have a lot of injuries and play three competitions, but the way they play is always there. He is doing an incredible job at Brighton.”
Brighton vs Man City
There is less than half an hour to go until kick off on the south coast, and Brighton will want to show the form they started the season with, however the defending champions will be difficult to beat.
Man City go into the match four points behind top-placed Arsenal but having played two games left, and if they can win all their remaining matches they will finish the season top of the Premier League.
Brighton vs Man City
Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference: “We played a lot of games. Madrid was really intense for many things, we were out of the Champions League having done really well and after two or three days we were tired. Not just in the legs, more complaining they were tired here (in the head).
“People sitting in chairs say, ‘Ah, I complain’. But I defend my players, I know what I’m talking about much, much better than the people outside. That’s why I say I’m really impressed, but all the time I’m thinking, ‘They will fall down’. This time (I thought) it would not be possible and still they make it possible.
“That’s why when I reflect on my period here I will always admire these type of players for many years still for finding a way to still be in. This is unbelievable.”
Pep Guardiola hails Manchester City’s mental endurance across packed schedule
Pep Guardiola has marvelled at the mental strength of his Manchester City squad, praising their refusal to “fall down” despite a gruelling schedule.
Thursday’s Premier League trip to Brighton will be their 53rd match of a season which started with the Community Shield on August 6 and has included the European Super Cup against Sevilla, the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia and a run to the FA Cup final next month.
Last week they bowed out of the Champions League in a draining quarter-final penalty shootout against Real Madrid, but Guardiola is full of pride for the way his side have stayed up for the three-way title fight with Arsenal and Liverpool.
“The human being does not have no limits, science says you need a certain time to recover many things, not just physically – mentally as well,” he said.
Brighton vs Man City
Here are some photos of the teams arriving at the stadium:
Brighton team news
Brighton XI: Steele; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Barco; Gross, Baleba; Lallana, Moder, Joao Pedro; Welbeck.
Subs: Verbruggen, Julio, Webster, Enciso, Adingra, Fati, Buonanotte , Offiah, O’Mah.
Brighton team news
Brighton have had a lengthy break, their last match came 12 days ago.
Jason Steele will be between the posts in place of Bart Verbruggen, and Pervis Estupinan has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign and Valentin Barco will be left-back.
Adam Lallana was also chosen to start, with Simon Adingra dropping to the bench.
Man City team news
Manchester City made three changes from their FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea on Saturday.
Ederson returns in goal, with Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol also named in the starting XI, with John Stones and Jack Grealish on the bench.
Man City team news
Man City XI | Ederson, Walker (C), Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden, Alvarez
SUBS | Ortega, Dias, Stones, Grealish, Doku, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis
Brighton vs Man City
The teams will be announced in just 10 minutes time.
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