Football 39n3s

Matt O’Riley Scores Winner On His Premier League Debut As Brighton Beat Manchester City 5k6719

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Watch Brighton Vs Manchester City highlights as the champions fell to their fourth straight defeat in all competitions.

City had never lost four in a row under Pep Guardiola until yesterday. The Spaniard had only suffered as many consecutive losses once before in his entire managerial career.

But Brighton struck twice late on to sink City and fire themselves into the top four.

Erling Haaland’s first-half opener was cancelled out by João Pedro in the 78th minute, before new g Matt O’Riley scored the winner on his Premier League debut.

It’s the first time since 2006 that City have lost four on the bounce, showing just how alien this run of form is for them.

But they looked to have stopped the slide when Haaland raced onto Mateo Kovacic’s through ball and fired the visitors in front.

City dominated the first half, but failed to find a crucial second goal.

Brighton then took the ascendancy after the break. They would have been level far sooner but for some poor finishing.

But eventually, an increasingly vulnerable City defence buckled, with Pedro bundling home from a goal-mouth scramble 12 minutes from the end.

The Seagulls then scored the winner five minutes later through O’Riley. Injured on his debut, the former Celtic star marked his return with a well-taken finish from close range to seal a memorable win for Brighton.

Watch: Brighton Vs Manchester City Highlights q3u2f

The victory takes Brighton into the Champions League places for a few hours.

With Chelsea and Arsenal one point below and both having a superior goal difference, one or both will leapfrog Brighton regardless of the result when they face off on Sunday.

For City, they stay second in the Premier League table, but are now five points adrift of leaders Liverpool.

Next up, Brighton travel to Bournemouth while City host Tottenham, a side they have often struggled against in recent years.

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James Chittick
Sports Editor

James is an experienced writer covering a wide range of sports, including Premier League and European football, Rugby Union, WWE and the NFL. Having studied English & Creative Writing at Plymouth University, James completed a master's degree in Digital & Social Media Marketing before pursuing a career in Journalism. He then graduated from News Associates in Manchester after finishing their NCTJ Postgraduate Diploma in Multimedia Sports Journalism. Since then, James spent time writing for GameRant before ing Reach PLC, where he featured regularly in publications such as the Daily Mirror, Football.LDN, Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo, as well as dozens of local titles. Now at SportsCasting, James provides expert analysis and detailed research features, as well as covering breaking news stories.

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Author photo
James Chittick Sports Editor

James is an experienced writer covering a wide range of sports, including Premier League and European football, Rugby Union, WWE and the NFL. Having studied English & Creative Writing at Plymouth University, James completed a master's degree in Digital & Social Media Marketing before pursuing a career in Journalism. He then graduated from News Associates in Manchester after finishing their NCTJ Postgraduate Diploma in Multimedia Sports Journalism. Since then, James spent time writing for GameRant before ing Reach PLC, where he featured regularly in publications such as the Daily Mirror, Football.LDN, Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo, as well as dozens of local titles. Now at SportsCasting, James provides expert analysis and detailed research features, as well as covering breaking news stories.

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