Brajan Gruda scored a dramatic late winner as Brighton & Hove Albion came from behind to beat Manchester City 2-1 at the Amex Stadium. The victory exposed the defending champions' growing vulnerabilities, with City unable to hold onto their half-time lead.
Erling Haaland had put City ahead just before the break, dinking the ball over goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen after Omar Marmoush's run. But Brighton, who had struggled in the first half with a pass completion rate below 75 per cent, were transformed by a quadruple substitution from manager Fabian Hürzeler on the hour mark.
The equaliser came from an unlikely source: 39-year-old James Milner, who converted a penalty after Matheus Nunes handled the ball. Milner became the second-oldest scorer in Premier League history, behind Teddy Sheringham. The penalty was awarded following a volley from Lewis Dunk that struck Nunes's arm.
As City's structure crumbled, Brighton poured forward. Goalkeeper James Trafford made several saves to keep City in the game, but in the 89th minute, a turnover led to a four-on-three break. Kaoru Mitoma picked out Gruda, who rounded Trafford and rolled the ball into an empty net to seal a deserved victory.
The result continues a worrying trend for Pep Guardiola's side, who have shown increasing susceptibility to balls played behind their defensive line. Despite the return of Rodri for his first Premier League start since September, City lacked the control that once defined them, relying too heavily on individual brilliance rather than collective fluency.
