Manchester City fire title warning with Phil Foden on song against Brighton

Phil Foden celebrates scoring his second goal to put Manchester City 3-0 up at Brighton. Photograph: Javier García/Shutterstock

Almost ten years ago to the day, Steven Gerrard slipped, Liverpool lost control of their destiny in terms of the Premier League title race and Manchester City nipped in to win it.

The talk in recent weeks and certainly since Arsenal and Liverpool lost on the Saturday before last has been about whether City might have a slip of their own in them, something that – frankly – they have never done previously under Pep Guardiola when the trophy has been within their grasp, the focus narrowing over the run-in.

The theory – or maybe just the hope from Arsenal, in particular – was that Brighton could get something from City. Roberto De Zerbi’s team had lost only two league games on their own turf all season. Apart from Tottenham away, it looked like City’s toughest remaining assignment in the defence of their title.

The champions tore the notion apart in devastating fashion, the game feeling over when Phil Foden scored with a deflected free-kick after 26 minutes and definitely being so when he got another one just after the half hour. It added the gloss to yet another excellent individual performance; Foden now has 24 City goals for the season.

Guardiola’s issue has been that his players are close to empty on a physical level but there was zero evidence of that here. Is it just a mind game? Kevin De Bruyne had opened the scoring with a fabulous header while Julián Álvarez got No 4. The dream of a record fourth straight title edges ever closer.

Guardiola had complained long and loud about City’s schedule, saying after the FA Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea on Saturday that he would put his players “in the fridge” until this latest leg of the title push. Which might have prepared them for a damp and chilly night by the seaside.

Guardiola was still without the injured Erling Haaland and City had to put their collective tiredness to the side, to allow the adrenaline to drive them. It was De Zerbi, though, who had the fitness issues. The Brighton manager was without eight of his squad through injury.

It has long been a favourite past-time of Guardiola-watchers to attempt to classify his formation. Here at the outset, the battle had been on to distil De Zerbi’s blend because the licence he gave to Adam Lallana and Pascal Gross in central attacking midfield roles was extreme.

Brighton were bright in the early exchanges, asking questions. But it quickly became a distant memory, De Bruyne ensuring City took control with a wonderful piece of headed technique. Yes, headed technique. De Bruyne does not score many with his head. In fact, he does not score any with his head. This was the first of his 68 in the Premier League with it.

What a goal it was, carrying shades of Robin van Persie’s famous effort for the Netherlands against Spain at the 2014 World Cup. De Bruyne dived and, using his neck muscles to generate the power on the ball, he looped it up and back down under the crossbar; from relatively long range, too. When Kyle Walker stood up the cross from the right, De Bruyne was about 14 yards out.

Nathan Aké had steered a shot off target, on the stretch from a Foden free-kick and, after Lewis Dunk had gone close with a header for Brighton and De Bruyne sent a deflected effort wide, City scored the crucial second goal.

The free-kick award was harsh because Foden, tearing towards the edge of the box at pace, looked to slip under no challenge. The Brighton fans raged, putting forward their corruption theories. Foden did not care. He went for power and caught a break when the shot deflected off Gross in the wall to wrongfoot Jason Steele.

Brighton stuck to their principles, looking to play out from the back and it was their undoing when, as they lived on the end of their nerves during one sequence, their full debutant, Valentín Barco, cracked. Bernardo Silva set the trap. And when Barco tried to play a return pass to Carlos Baleba, Silva pounced. The ball was worked to Foden and he guided it into the far corner.

Foden strutted his stuff. His case to be named as the player of the season was already well advanced – and not only because of the numbers. Here it was his velvet touch, as much as anything else; his preternatural ability to find the seams of space, to move with the ball without breaking a single stride.

De Zerbi enjoys the respect of Guardiola and it would have hurt the Brighton manager to see his tactical plan fall apart after the promise at the very start. He made substitutions, including the introduction of Igor Julio at left-back, with Barco pushing up to left midfield.

But Brighton were exposed up that side for the City fourth, Ederson launching a long, high pass in behind Barco for Kyle Walker. The right-back chopped inside Barco before getting to the ball ahead of Steele and working it to Álvarez. The City striker had twice gone close just beforehand. Now he fired home.

The Brighton support would rage at the referee, Jarred Gillett, who ignored a clutch of penalty appeals, the biggest one coming on 70 minutes when Josko Gvardiol appeared to make contact with João Pedro. It was not a night when the difference was made by the officials.