Match Report and Player Ratings: Brighton 0-4 Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City closed the gap to a singular point at the top of the table with a game in hand, as they emphatically defeated Brighton 0-4 at the Amex Stadium on Thursday night.

Following on from Arsenal’s victory and Liverpool’s defeat, the title race took another couple of unexpected twists and turns prior to Manchester City’s match against Brighton.

With that in mind, City entered the game knowing victory was the only acceptable result, and played like a side with a ruthless determination to retain their crown this season.

After a cagey first 15 minutes, Kevin De Bruyne found himself on the end of a Kyle Walker cross, using every hair he has grown out on his head to loft the ball over Jason Steele and under the bar, giving City the lead.

10 minutes later the Blues would double their advantage, when a free-kick won by Phil Foden would be converted by the man himself, continuing his rich vein of form once more.

Determined to play themselves into trouble, Brighton shot themselves in the foot, when Valentin Barco gifted the ball to Bernardo Silva who’s heavy touch teed up Foden perfectly, who made no mistake inside the penalty area, giving City a 3-0 lead upon half time.

More defensive woes caused concern for Brighton, this time with a long ball from Ederson catching everyone off guard, as Kyle Walker raced into the Brighton box, before a ricochet nicely found Julian Alvarez who slotted the ball into an empty net.

A penalty claim and a couple of tame efforts was all Brighton offered as the Champions were rampant in a thoroughly deserved 0-4 victory on Thursday night.

With that being said, here is how we rated the players’ performances in the crucial victory on the south coast!

Player Ratings:

Ederson – 7.5

Flawless distribution and an excellent couple of saves kept Ederson’s clean sheet intact at the Amex.

Kyle Walker – 8

Assister of two goals, Kyle Walker had a mixed performance on Thursday night, finding himself in some great areas going forward but still being caught out a couple of times at the back.

Manuel Akanji – 7.5

Akanji did everything that was asked of him against Brighton, keeping the Seagulls attack quiet all evening.

Nathan Ake – 8

It wouldn’t be unfair to say Ake has been one of the most underrated signings of the Pep Guardiola era at Manchester City. Another dominant display at the back from the Dutch defender.

Josko Gvardiol – 7

Slightly fortunate not to concede a penalty in the second-half, but a tidy performance all round from Gvardiol.

Rodrigo – 7.5

Sat deep, passed the ball, moved the Brighton midfield around, barely broke a sweat. A typical Rodri performance.

Mateo Kovacic – 8

Kovacic has been an unbelievable acquisition following his arrival from Chelsea. The Croatian was at his silky best tonight, with the Brighton midfield unable to get anywhere near him.

Kevin De Bruyne – 8

We all knew Kevin De Bruyne had a ridiculous goal catalogue, but who saw that coming? A cracking header and a brilliant performance before being replaced.

Bernardo Silva – 8

A performance which proves that football should be watched with the eyes. Silva was at the front and centre of everything good tonight despite having just a singular assist to show for it.

Julian Alvarez – 7.5

Worked tirelessly hard in typical fashion and earned his reward with the fourth goal on the night.

Phil Foden – 9 (MOTM)

In a difficult away fixture you need your big players to step up, and Phil Foden demonstrated once again how he falls into that category. A classy performance from the star of the show tonight.

Substitutes:

Matheus Nunes – 7

Kept the ball and did his job after arriving upon 72 minutes.

Jack Grealish – 7

The last man you want to see come on the pitch when you’re frustrated and demoralised is probably Jack Grealish. Similar to Nunes, Grealish did his job as asked when he came on.

Jeremy Doku – 6

Rico Lewis – 6

Sergio Gomez – 6