JD

Man City 0–1 Brighton | City ran the game, Verbruggen kept the result City had 79% of the territory, 21 shots and 2.08 xG. Brighton scored once and spent 80 minutes defending it. That’s the whole match, but the details matter. ⚽ One mistake, one goal 10': Brighton worked the ball wide, Diego Gómez put it across, and Matheus Nunes made the error that left Yasin Ayari free in the middle of the box. First touch, 0.45 xG, goal. It was Brighton’s best chance of the game, and it came before City had settled. 🔵 City did everything except score The territory was completely one-sided: 18 box entries against 5. 60 progressive passes against 43. 11 deep completions against 5. 24 crosses, 10 of them completed. City’s press also worked. PPDA was 5.4 against Brighton’s 8.5, with 19 high regains to 11. City’s transitions produced 0.62 xG; Brighton’s produced 0.07. But the chances were packed into a crowded box. City averaged 0.099 xG per shot. Eight were blocked and seven missed the target. Set pieces didn’t help either: 0.56 xG from six attempts, and nothing. 🧤 Verbruggen made the difference City put 1.70 post-shot xG on target, which means the strikes themselves were good enough to score more than once. Bart Verbruggen made seven saves and conceded nothing. That’s roughly 1.7 goals prevented in one afternoon. Haaland had four shots for 0.50 xG. Ndiaye had the best chances, 0.61 xG, and hit the woodwork on 75'. 🛡️ What Brighton did right They didn’t try to keep the ball once they were ahead. After the goal, Brighton produced 0.22 xG per 30 minutes and were happy to defend the box. When they did have the ball, they still found the line: 21 line-breaking passes against City’s 17. Every one of their five box entries ended in a shot. There was also a cost. 25% of their losses in City’s half turned into a dangerous counter, against 11.5% for City. Brighton left space behind them, and City got into it, but couldn’t beat the keeper.