Brighton face Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday, Aug. 12. Here are all the highlights from the match
Considering the discrepancy in talent between Manchester City and Brighton, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see the former come out and berate their opponents to open their 2017-18 Premier League seasons. And indeed, the league favorites came out and seemed to be playing like they were up against a little brother.
In just about every facet of the match, Man City were in control. They were holding possession, they were getting opportunities — most frequently with Garbriel Jesus — and they weren’t allowing any Brighton possession to amount to much of anything.
However, there was one definitive problem for Manchester City throughout the first half: The goal is always to find the back of the net, and they couldn’t do just that.
Despite taking nine shots in the first half, only two were on target for Man City. That was quite a shocking lack of quality, especially placed next to Brighton’s one total shot, though an effort that was actually on target. What’s more, Manchester City won the possession battle shockingly heavily, taking 76 percent of the ball in the first half.
But still, they couldn’t find the back of the net. As such, they were left drawn at 0-0 going into halftime and looking for more quality on the road coming into the second 45 minutes.
The dominant possession play continued into the second half, the way that Pep Guardiola loves it. However, City continued to struggle to find viable opportunities early on. After almost 25 minutes in the second half, though, it was actually a Brighton turnover that made way for Man City to pull ahead. Kevin De Bruyne corralled an interception running down the right side. He played it into the middle to David Silva, who then played a beautiful quick touch into the box for Aguero. There was no doubt there as he found the net.
That opened the floodgates briefly as another beautiful buildup led to an own goal off an attempted headed clearance to increase the lead.
Though Brighton continued trying to counter when possible, the opportunities weren’t there. Man City held on and continued to look like league favorites in their domination. It was a quality 2-0 victory that was never really in doubt — even if it took them a while to find their way past the keeper.
Highlights
Who else but Sergio Agüero to score for @ManCity? pic.twitter.com/vOv72q4HVD
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 12, 2017
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This wasn’t a surprising result. Perhaps the biggest shock was how long it took Manchester City to score. Regardless, though, they’ll take the three points as they look to keep on the ascent as the table takes shape in the coming weeks.