Unexpected sensation at the Etihad: Brighton defeats Manchester City

31 October 2026, 22:09·55·Sport

A truly unexpected result was recorded in one of the headline matches of the 9th round of the English Premier League: Manchester City, having taken the field with the intention of strengthening their lead at home, lost to Brighton at the Etihad with a narrow 0:1 scoreline.

Of particular interest to Uzbek fans is the fact that our national team defender Abdukodir Khusanov played the full 90 minutes for the "Citizens," starting from the first minute until the final whistle.

Match chronicle: The decisive strike in the 11th minute

The fate of the match was decided by a single situation in the opening minutes:

Quick goal (11th minute): Brighton players organized an aggressive press from the start and executed a quick attack — Yasin Ayari scored with an accurate strike against the goal guarded by Gianluigi Donnarumma (0:1);
City's unanswered pressure: After conceding, Enzo Maresca's charges attacked with their full squad, but the goal of Bart Verbruggen and Brighton's solid defense did not allow the opponent to equalize;
Second consecutive defeat for Maresca's team: Manchester City tasted defeat in the domestic league for the second game in a row.

Situation in the tournament table

The sensational victory further intensified the competition in the top three:

Manchester City still at the top: Despite the defeat, the "Citizens" remain in 1st place in the table with 21 points, but the gap with their pursuers has narrowed to a minimum;
Brighton enters the top three: Returning from the away match with 3 valuable points, the visitors increased their point tally to 19, climbing to 3rd place in the EPL standings.

Protocol and lineups

EPL. 9th round
Manchester City — Brighton 0:1
Goal: Yasin Ayari (11).

Lineups:

Manchester City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Ruben Dias, Gvardiol (Foden, 79), Abdukodir Khusanov, Anderson, Buaddi (Cherki, 55), Ndiaye (Ellias, 79), Enzo Fernandez, Doku, Haaland.
Brighton: Verbruggen, Vuskovic, Dunk, Boscagli, Costinha, Pascal Gross, Andres (Wieffer, 64), Gomes (Rutter, 84), Yasin Ayari, de Cuyper, Kostoulas (Hinshelwood, 72).