How Brighton fared in their final match before the Double Gameweeks

Brighton and Hove Albion enjoy two Double Gameweeks over the next fortnight, the most appealing of which is unquestionably their first.

Bournemouth and Cardiff City are the visitors to the Amex Stadium in Gameweek 34, before the Seagulls face two less-enticing away fixtures at Wolves and Spurs in Gameweek 35.

Fantasy managers will have their eyes on a handful of Brighton assets going into this Friday’s deadline, so we took in their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday to see how Albion fared in their final audition.

We also discuss how Pep Guardiola’s side performed, with one eye on City’s double-header against Spurs and Manchester United in Gameweek 35.

Manchester City 1-0 Brighton and Hove Albion

• Goal: Gabriel Jesus (£9.9m)
• Assist: Kevin De Bruyne (£9.7m)

The ovation that Brighton and Hove Albion received at the end of their defeat to Manchester City at Wembley was richly deserved after running Pep Guardiola’s side close in their FA Cup semi-final.

In a sense, though, the game reinforced what we already knew about Brighton in that they are stronger defensively than they are going forward.

All the late pressure from Albion amounted to very little and they exited the competition having mustered just five attempts on goal over 90 minutes, with Ederson (£5.6m) only called into action on two occasions in the match.

One of the Brazilian’s “saves” proved crucial, though, as the inadvertent glove he got to Shane Duffy’s (£4.7m) towering header on 54 minutes took enough pace off the ball to allow the excellent Aymeric Laporte (£6.0m) to clear from under his own bar.

Glenn Murray (£6.3m), who has only three Premier League goals since the beginning of December, barely got a sniff before he was withdrawn midway through the second half, with man-marker Nicolas Otamendi (£6.0m) winning 13 aerial balls to Murray’s three.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh (£6.7m) is without a goal or assist in his debut Premier League season and he only sporadically shone on what is admittedly his “wrong” wing, so it was left to Anthony Knockaert (£5.2m) to carry much of Brighton’s threat going forward.

While Martin Keown’s man of the match award may have been pushing it slightly, Knockaert did catch the eye with his direct running and set-piece deliveries and fired a rising effort just over the bar in the first half.

There’s no doubt, however, that Brighton’s defensive assets will be more popular in Gameweeks 34 and 35.

It should be said that the Seagulls have recorded only two Premier League clean sheets in 2019 (only Fulham have fewer) and this was another game in which their defence was breached, with Gabriel Jesus (£9.9m) connecting with a superb Kevin De Bruyne (£9.7m) cross to nod City in front after just four minutes.

Still, not many teams will restrict Guardiola’s side to four shots on target and the Citizens only really posed a major threat late in the game when the Seagulls had committed bodies forward to attack.

Lewis Dunk (£4.4m) was excellent at centre-half while Duffy coupled solidity at the back with his usual attacking menace at dead-ball situations, going close with two headers from Knockaert deliveries.

Full-backs Bernardo (£4.2m) and Martin Montoya (£4.3m) dealt with the threat of Raheem Sterling (£11.5m) and Bernardo Silva (£7.6m) admirably too, limiting their influence on the game.

Hughton said of his side’s display:

I’m incredibly proud of the players. After conceding so early, I doubt there was anyone in the stadium that felt a second [goal] wasn’t going to come.

Apart from the goal, I’m struggling to think of a real clear chance they had inside 90 minutes, and that certainly wouldn’t have happened too often to them this season.

When we analyse the game and what our players did, the distances they covered, one thing I’m quite sure about is that it will be as high as it’s been at any stage this season.

To run such a brilliant team, like Manchester City, close, it takes such a huge effort. With the performance the team gave, I think it made the supporters very proud.

We’ve got a very tired group at the moment, but come Monday morning all our efforts and concentrations need to be on a home game against Bournemouth, and then Cardiff.

As for City, we will see them in action again before finalising our teams for Gameweek 34 and beyond – Guardiola’s troops are in Champions League action against Spurs on Tuesday evening.

This was far from vintage City, however, with the defending league champions not registering a shot on target after their opening goal until the final half hour.

While not at his best, Sterling was at the centre of City’s best chances in the second half.

The England winger first tested Mathew Ryan (£4.4m) with a dipping effort before seeing a goalbound shot blocked by Dunk and then drawing a smart stop from Brighton’s goalkeeper in stoppage time with a first-time volley.

De Bruyne’s superlative pass for City’s winning goal was a further suggestion that the Belgian playmaker is starting to rediscover his form of previous seasons but in reality, it was a fairly quiet afternoon for the Sky Blues’ midfield, with David Silva (£8.5m) again not reaching his usual high levels.

Guardiola reserved praise for De Bruyne after full-time:

In the last three games, he was outstanding. Really good.

Goal aside, Jesus was fairly peripheral and only Murray had fewer touches of the 22 starting players on show.

Sergio Aguero (£11.8m) missed out through injury but Guardiola said after full-time that the Argentinean striker isn’t far from a return:

He’s much, much better. Still, he didn’t train one single training with us. Tomorrow he’s going to train, we’re going to see for Tuesday or for Crystal Palace or another game.

Kyle Walker (£6.4m), who could easily have been sent off for a headbutt on Jahanbakhsh, was replaced at half-time with what Guardiola said was a hamstring/back problem:

He had problems in the back, in the hamstring, he could not run.

There was a first start since November for Benjamin Mendy (£6.1m), who looked a little rusty before being withdrawn in the second half with fatigue but who showed glimpses of his old direct self in the early exchanges of this encounter.

Guardiola said of his left-back:

He arrived at the byline many times and it had been a long time since he played. He trained for the last few weeks and started a little [shakily] but in the second half, he was much better.

Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker (Danilo 46′), Otamendi, Laporte, Mendy (Stones 79′); De Bruyne (Fernandinho 65′), Gundogan, D Silva; B Silva, Jesus, Sterling.

Brighton and Hove Albion XI (4-1-4-1): Ryan; Montoya, Duffy, Dunk, Bernardo; Stephens; Knockaert, Propper, Bissouma (Locadia 80′), Jahanbakhsh (Izquierdo 70′); Murray (Andone 66′).