Manchester City won 4-0 against Brighton on Thursday night to maintain control of the Premier League title race.
Pep Guardiola's side found themselves unmarked by leading by three goals at half-time, with Phil Foden's brace adding to Kevin De Bruyne's stunning diving header.
Julian Alvarez's effort added gloss to the scoreline in the second half as Man City moved within one point of the league leaders with Arsenal having a game in hand.
How the game happened
After Arsenal demolished Chelsea and Liverpool lost in the Merseyside derby, the pressure was on the reigning champions to win on the south coast. They got off to a good start on the course, enjoying plenty of possession, but it was Brighton's Danny Welbeck who got the opener of the evening from Ederson with his long-range strike.
However, it didn't take long for City to dominate their possession and it was De Bruyne who put them ahead with a stunning effort after 17 minutes. Kyle Walker's cross found the midfielder in the box and his stunning diving header fell over the outstretched glove of Jason Steele.
It took just eight minutes for City to double their advantage and there was controversy surrounding Foden's effort. The England international won a free-kick on the edge of the box after sliding in untouched, his subsequent effort deflecting the ball past Pascal Gross into the back of the net.
But there was no disputing City's third, with Foden grabbing a double to kill the game before the break. Brighton were caught playing back and Bernardo Silva's block fell at the feet of the 23-year-old before he curled a powerful shot into the far corner in the 34th minute.
Brighton felt they should have had a penalty a minute after the restart when Gross went down after contact with Rodri, but the referee and VAR did not see enough to award the spot kick.
City ended up in fourth place after an hour with the home team again annoyed by the officials. The ball appeared to brush Walker's hand on its way to Alvarez following a collision with Steele, the Argentinian slotting home from close range. Referee Jarred Gillett was not affected by the incident, nor was VAR official John Brooks.
Brighton's anger at the officials reached a boiling point in the 70th minute when Joao Pedro appeared to trip in the penalty area by Josko Gvardiol. Once again, the protests fell on deaf ears.
But the hosts could not rally and reduce the deficit until the final minutes, with City holding on for a comfortable – and crucial – victory at the Amex.
GK: Jason Steele – 5/10 – He was clearly instructed to play from the back at all costs and, despite his accurate passing, he often got his teammates into trouble.
RB: Joel Veltman – 5/10 – Booked for fouling as frustration mounted, the Dutchman endured a difficult night. He was caught on break.
CB: Jan Paul van Hecke – 5/10 – Made decent blocks but struggled to deal with Man City's movement in the final third.
CB: Lewis Dunk – 5/10 – Some sloppy touches didn't inspire confidence at the back and he fumbled when playing under pressure.
LB: Valentin Barco – 4/10 – The boy's unnecessary pass was taken for Man City's third and he was always defending himself from Walker. A baptism of fire in his first Premier League start.
CM: Carlos Baleba – 5/10 – Showed glimpses of his quality in more advanced positions, but was easily outclassed by the Man City midfielder. Booked for a foul in the second half.
CM: Jakub Moder – 6/10 – He put in solid yards in the engine room and did his best to thwart Man City's attacking threats.
AM: Pascal Gross – 5/10 – Unfortunately he deflected Foden's free kick past Steele but he did very little to have a positive impact on the game as Brighton's main creator.
AM: Adam Lallana – 5/10 – Cruyff's clean single Bar in midfield, the former Liverpool man was unknown. It was dramatically withdrawn at halftime.
ST: Danny Welbeck – 6/10 – He tried his best in limited service and was the healthiest in the forward unit.
ST: Joao Pedro – 6/10 – Signs of life in the second half and would undoubtedly have won the spot kick with a smart run. You missed the person sitting behind the times.
What you are holding
SUB: Simon Adingra (46' for Lallana) – 6/10
SUB: Odel Ofiah (46' for Veltman) – 6/10
SUB: Igor (56' to Moder) – 7/10
SUB: Mark O'Mahony (75' for Welbeck) – 6/10
Subs used: Bart Verbruggen (GK), Adam Webster, Facundo Buonanotte, Julio Enciso, Ansu Fati.
The manager
Roberto De Zerbi – 3/10 – Suicidal style from the Italian as Brighton kept getting kicked out when trying to play at the back. You can't play like that with a champion and expect to get away with it.
GK: Ederson – 6/10 – A slow sweep, he was rarely involved.
RB: Kyle Walker – 8/10 – The tried and tested Barco runs down the right and sets up De Bruyne's opener and Alvarez's strike.
CB: Manuel Akanji – 7/10 – He was rarely tested by Brighton's front line and was neat playing out of defence.
CB: Nathan Ake – 7/10 – He missed one chance before Man City's first game but it didn't matter much in the end. A very quiet night for the Dutchman defensively.
LB: Josko Guardiol – 6/10 – Moves forward when needed but was usually not needed in an attack. Maybe he should have been punished for tripping Pedro in the penalty area.
CM: Rodri – 6/10 – A few cross passes would have put Man City in trouble if Brighton had been clinical. The Spaniard could also have awarded a penalty after the break.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 7/10 – Get forward impressively from midfield and provide some power in the midfield.
RM: Bernardo Silva – 7/10 – A sneaky game from the Portuguese, who kept things moving in the final third.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne – 8/10 – A superb first Premier League header from the Belgian, who glided across the Amex turf with ease. Another impactful visit.
LM: Phil Foden – 9/10 – Another wonder from Foden who grabbed two goals in the first half. The first one was a little lucky, but the second one was usually good.
ST: Julian Alvarez – 7/10 – Some excellent runs beyond the Brighton backline and his persistence paid off when he ended his goal drought in the second half.
What you are holding
SUB: Jack Grealish (71' for Foden) – 6/10
SUB: Matheus Nunes (71' by De Bruyne) – 6/10
SUB: Jeremy Doku (78' for Silva) – 6/10
SUB: Rico Lewis (78' for Walker) – 6/10
SUB: Sergio Gomez (78' for Rodri) – 6/10
Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), John Stones, Ruben Dias, Oscar Bobb.
The manager
Pep Guardiola – 8/10 – An impressive performance from his side, who repeatedly opened up Brighton and punished their dangerous tactics. You made a possible banana skin thing look like that, very simple.
Man of the match: Phil Foden (Man City)
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