Gruda wrests grip from City to seal Brighton's surge

When a team lose the aura of champions, it can go absolutely. Opponents suddenly look at them and wonder what on earth once seemed so intimidating, how on earth a bunch of players in these shirts, even with this manager, could seem so unbeatable.

- Jonathan Wilson

At half-time Manchester City led, and seemed comfortable against opponents who had never got going. But by the time Brajan Gruda rounded James Trafford and dumped Rayan Aït-Nouri on his backside before rolling into an empty net, a Brighton winner had come to seem almost overdue. Seconds earlier Trafford had stretched back and to his left to claw away a deflected Jan Paul van Hecke shot. But the Brighton surge had become relentless.

Fabian Hürzeler, their manager, must take credit for a quadruple substitution on the hour that transformed the game, but just as striking was how vulnerable City became to balls played in behind their defensive line, particularly after the substitution of Bernardo Silva on 72 minutes.