Brighton Beat Manchester City 1-0 at the Etihad as Ayari Scores and Verbruggen Makes Seven Saves

Brighton and Hove Albion beat Manchester City 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, October 31, 2026, in Premier League Matchday 9. Yasin Ayari scored the only goal in the 11th minute, and goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen made seven saves to protect the lead for the rest of the match. The full time score was Manchester City 0, Brighton 1.

An early goal decides it

Maxim De Cuyper progressed the ball and squared it to Ayari, who found the bottom corner past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. That early strike was enough. Brighton defended the lead through long spells of City pressure, and Verbruggen dealt with everything that reached his goal. The win is Brighton sixth in their opening nine league games.

City had chances to level before half time. Iliman Ndiaye headed wide from close range in the 22nd minute from an Elliot Anderson cross. Later in the match Ndiaye saw a shot pushed onto the upright by Verbruggen. Erling Haaland had a shot blocked by Lewis Dunk in the 41st minute as Haaland sought his 10th Premier League goal of the season, after scoring nine goals in his first eight league games.

At half time City had 55 percent of the ball and the shots were 7-3 for City, but expected goals was 0.58 to 0.53 in favour of Brighton. The numbers matched the pattern of the match. City held more of the ball, while Brighton had made the clearer opening count.

City chase, Brighton hold

City manager Enzo Maresca brought on Rayan Cherki and Nico O'Reilly in the second half as City chased an equaliser. Cherki had been dropped to the bench for this match, with Ayyoub Bouaddi starting in midfield, and Marc Guehi also missed out. The changes lifted City late on, but Brighton held their shape.

Late in the match Verbruggen kept out a powerful strike by Abdukodir Khusanov, one of the seven saves NBC Sports credited to him, including saves from Ndiaye and Khusanov. Nico O'Reilly then headed wide, and Brighton saw out the closing minutes for the win.

What the result means

After starting the Premier League season with seven straight wins, Manchester City have now suffered back to back league defeats, following their loss to Aston Villa. Before the match City led the table with 21 points from a 7-0-1 record, and Brighton were third with 16 points from 5-1-2. After the win Brighton stay third, have won six of their opening nine games, and are just two points behind leaders Manchester City.

City remain top of the Premier League after the defeat, but they will drop to second if Arsenal win or draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. The two sides had also met in the Carabao Cup in midweek, when a much changed City side advanced on penalties against Brighton at the Etihad. This time, in the league, Brighton left with all three points.