Erling Haaland (14.1m) marked his 100th Premier League appearance with a goal, although Manchester City ultimately suffered a 2-1 loss against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
Here are our Scout Notes from the Amex Stadium.
HAALAND GOAL…
Over 2.2m Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers selected Haaland as their captain in Gameweek 3, and the Norwegian validated their trust by finding the net at the Amex Stadium.
He also claimed the maximum bonus for a nine-point return, although it had the potential to be even better.
Haaland racked up a total of seven shots and could easily have netted a first-half hat-trick, with one poor finish, one attempt that flashed wide of the post and a header that was well saved.
But he did put City ahead with his fourth opportunity, as he prodded home after some decent work from Omar Marmoush (£8.4m), who claimed the assist.
Above: Erling Haaland’s shot map v Brighton in Gameweek 3
… BUT CITY STRUGGLE
Haaland’s goal in the 34th minute proved to be City’s last shot on target.
Their finishing, on the whole, was pretty wayward, which allowed Brighton to turn it around in the second half.
Oscar Bobb (£5.5m), who is one of just five outfield City players to have started all three matches this season, probably should have found the net, poking it wide from a decent position.
Tijjani Reijnders (£5.7m), meanwhile, was full of endeavour but failed to register a penalty box touch. He did at least take a few corners and free-kicks.
Above: Tijjani Reijnders’ touch heatmap v Brighton in Gameweek 3
It’s back to the drawing board for City, then, with Manchester United and Arsenal up next after the international break.
CHERKI INJURY, FODEN LATEST + RODRI RETURNS
Rayan Cherki (£6.5m) missed the trip to Brighton and has since been ruled out for “seven or eight weeks”.
The Frenchman reportedly has a “quadriceps tear”.
“He’s out for two months. Seven or eight weeks.” – Pep Guardiola on Rayan Cherki
Phil Foden (£8.0m) was also absent in Gameweek 3, having been described as “not fully fit”.
In better news, Abdukodir Khusanov (£5.4m) was taken off with a knock, but Pep Guardiola has played down the issue, saying “I think Khusa is fine”.
Elsewhere, Rodri (£6.4m) was back in the City starting XI on Sunday.
Making his first start since returning from an ACL injury, he completed the most passes (87), had the most touches (109) and racked up 10 defensive contributions (DefCons), including eight recoveries.
BRIGHTON’S SUBS
Pep Guardiola’s side were in complete control until Brighton made four changes midway through the second half.
From that point onwards, the momentum shifted, with James Milner’s (£5.0m) 67th-minute penalty levelling things up. Neither Danny Welbeck (£6.4m) or Matt O’Riley (£5.5m) were on the pitch when it was taken.
Brajan Gruda (£5.4m), who was superb, registering three shots and one key pass in just 34 minutes of football, completed the comeback late on.
“I think this can be a signal for him [Gruda] that if he trains hard, if he plays consistently, if he pushes his limits, he can be a game-changer for every team in the world. We saw his potential last season; he has special things inside of him, he can do special things, he can change the game in one situation, and now it’s important that he proves it consistently. He proved it [in the 6-0 Carabao Cup win] against Oxford, he proved it today. I hope he has a good international break with Germany, and hopefully he comes back in great shape, and then he will have a big impact for us.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Brajan Gruda
Elsewhere, substitute Georginio Rutter (£5.9m) replaced Welbeck up top on the hour, forcing one save from James Trafford (£5.0m), who kept his place in goal despite his mistake against Tottenham Hotspur last week.
Trafford also did well to keep out Kaoru Mitoma (£6.4m) and Yankuba Minteh (£5.9m), who banked DefCon points and did everything but score.
As for Brighton, only two teams have produced a higher expected goals (xG) tally in Gameweeks 1-3 (6.21).
It suggests they’ll be a real test for the defences of Bournemouth, Spurs and Chelsea after the international break.
Mats Wieffer (£5.0m), meanwhile, missed out on Sunday due to a “minor knee issue”.
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