Brighton have climbed above Manchester City in the Premier League table. A 2-0 win over 10-man Brentford at the Amex on Sunday took the Seagulls to 22 points, one more than City, and that’s where the two sides will sit through the November international break.
It caps a miserable eight days for Enzo Maresca. City went into the weekend second, lost 3-1 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening, and less than 24 hours later watched the side that beat them at the Etihad on 31 October move past them.
The gap to the top is now six points. Arsenal beat Hull 1-0 on Saturday and sit on 27 points from 10 games, five clear of Brighton and six ahead of City.
How Brighton got above Man City
Diego Gómez put Brighton ahead after 15 minutes, and Brentford’s task got much harder eight minutes later when Igor Thiago was sent off. Pascal Gross made it 2-0 from the penalty spot three minutes before half-time, and that was enough.
It was Brighton’s sixth win in seven league games and their seventh in 10. Two of those wins came against the teams around them: a 3-0 home win over Arsenal in September, still the leaders’ only league defeat, and the 1-0 at the Etihad on 31 October.
The numbers behind it are just as strong. Brighton have scored 26 league goals, more than anyone else, created the second-most big chances (37) and kept seven clean sheets, level with the best in the division. Gross, 35 and back at the club since January after his spell at Borussia Dortmund, has created eight big chances on his own, more than any other player in the league.
He wasn’t getting carried away. “No, we are not in a title race,” Gross told Sky Sports after the game. “But we have started the season really well. It’s the beginning of the season.”
What the Premier League table looks like for Man City
| Pos | Club | Played | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 10 | 27 |
| 2 | Brighton | 10 | 22 |
| 3 | Man City | 10 | 21 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 10 | 18 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 10 | 16 |
City are still third, and the cushion behind them held up on Sunday. Liverpool won 3-1 at Crystal Palace to move to 18 points, three behind, while Chelsea lost 1-0 at Sunderland and stay on 16.
What stings is how quickly it turned. Maresca’s side won their first seven league games, including 3-0 at Anfield and 1-0 at Old Trafford. Since then it’s been a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa, the 1-0 home loss to Brighton and the 3-1 at the City Ground, where Liam Delap scored twice. That’s 21 points from the first 21 available and none from the last nine.
Who do City play after the international break?
Fulham come to the Etihad on Saturday 21 November (12.30pm UK). Then it’s the trip to Arsenal on 29 November, a game that could leave City nine points off the top if it goes wrong. Before either, Maresca needs answers on the fitness of his defenders after Marc Guehi asked to come off injured at Forest.
Hanging over all of it is the charges case. City were found guilty of breaching 114 Premier League financial rules by an independent commission earlier this year and have appealed, and they deny any wrongdoing. The outcome of that appeal could still change the table far more than any run of results.
Verdict: Brighton above Man City is a warning, not a crisis
Third place after 10 games is not a disaster, and a two-week break could be exactly what Maresca needs to reset a team that looks tired and short of confidence. But Brighton are no flash in the pan. They have the league’s best attack, one of its meanest defences and a playmaker in Gross who is running games.
City don’t need to chase Arsenal yet. They do need to beat Fulham, because three straight defeats is a slump and a fourth would start to look like something worse.
