Manchester City avoided their third defeat in a row in the Premier League after defeating Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola made five changes after their defeat against Arsenal, as Rodri returned from suspension alongside a surprise start for goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, Jeremy Doku and the recall of John Stones and Manuel Akanji.
The Citizens had an ideal start after Julian Alvarez fired them ahead within the first seven minutes with a strike into the roof of the net after he was teed up by Doku in the box.
The hosts remained on the front foot and Erling Haaland doubled their lead on 19 minutes with a strike towards the near post after he was offered space to shoot on the edge of the box.
Guardiola's charges had complete control of the game, as they kept Brighton back-pedalling towards the end of the first stanza and far away from their goals and were happy to take a 2-0 lead to the break.
The Seagulls threatened in the early stages of the second stanza but they were not clinical and almost went 3-0 behind on 68 minutes after Haaland went clear on goal but his attempted chip was saved by goalkeeper Jason Steele.
Roberto De Zerbi's men continued to find good moments going forward and Anssumane Fati eventually pulled a goal back with 17 minutes remaining with a strike in the box after a cross was not cleared by the City defence.
Guardiola brought the fresh legs of Jack Grealish just after that in place of Doku and Grealish kept the Brighton defence busy on the left wing, with the game on the edge.
The flow of the game in the dying minutes was interrupted by a long stoppage but there was still all to play for, as the Citizens were reduced to ten men after Akanji got a second yellow card for a foul and was red-carded.
However, City held their nerve in the end and returned to winning ways.
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