Brighton's Irish striker #28 Evan Ferguson (L) voies with Manchester City's Croatian defender #24 Josko Gvardiol during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on October 21, 2023. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES. AN ADDITIONAL 40 IMAGES MAY BE USED IN EXTRA TIME. NO VIDEO EMULATION. SOCIAL MEDIA IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES. AN ADDITIONAL 40 IMAGES MAY BE USED IN EXTRA TIME. NO USE IN BETTING PUBLICATIONS, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /

EPL: Man City end defeat snag despite Brighton’s late rally

Manchester City beat Brighton 2-1 on Saturday to return to the Premier League summit and end Liverpool’s brief stay at the top after their victory in the Merseyside derby.

City, who had lost their previous two league games, dominated the first half of their match at the Etihad against Brighton, taking the lead through Alvarez in the seventh minute.

Jeremy Doku was the creator as he reached the byline and pulled back for Alvarez to tuck home his seventh of the season from 12 yards.

Haaland ended his brief goal drought by doubling City’s lead 12 minutes later, driving home a fierce left-footed shot from just outside the area.

But it was a different story after the break and Brighton pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute.

Moments after Alvarez failed with an attempt to catch Jason Steele off his line, the ball was quickly sent upfield and, after Kaoru Mitoma’s attempted pass was blocked, Ansu Fati tucked home.

City defender Manuel Akanji was sent off in the closing minutes but they held on to win despite late pressure.

AFP