Brighton beat Manchester City with seven shots and an early goal

Yasin Ayari's eleventh-minute goal was enough at the Etihad, where City had far more shooting but no equaliser.

Yasin Ayari scored in the eleventh minute, set up by Maxim De Cuyper, and that goal settled the match. It came before the first quarter of an hour was over, so the rest of the game was played with Brighton in front and City searching for a way back. The scoreline is simple, but the numbers underneath it are more interesting.

Manchester City had 62% of the ball, close to their usual 64.4%, so possession tells us nothing new about them. What changed was the shooting. They took 20 shots, against a normal figure of 14.5, and 18 of them came from inside the box. Expected goals, a measure of how good a chance was based on where and how it was taken, came in close to their usual level, so City made more chances of ordinary quality rather than better ones.

Brighton had only 38% of the ball, well below their away average of 60.4%. They took seven shots where they usually take 17.1, and only six came from inside the box. Their expected goals still reached a respectable level, but that was down from their away norm, and it was higher than the 0.89 that City usually concede over a season. The chances Brighton did create were good ones, and there were fewer of them.

The match turned on B. Verbruggen, who made seven saves and was rated 9.5, a figure well clear of anyone else in the match ratings. City's G. Donnarumma made two saves in return. City also had seven shots blocked, which shows how many of their attempts were stopped before they reached the goal, while Brighton had only one blocked.

Brighton picked up three yellow cards, from Chema Andrés, Maxim De Cuyper and Pascal Groß, and City picked up none. Nobody was sent off, so the full match was played eleven against eleven. J. Doku had nine successful dribbles and three shots for City, but he ended the afternoon on the losing side.

City are top of the table with 21 points from eight matches, while Brighton are third on 16 points from the same number of games. Those positions say more about the season so far than this single match does, but they also show that a side with the most of the ball and the most shots can still be beaten by a single early goal.

City's home record stands at seven wins and one defeat from eight matches, and Brighton's recent run includes three wins in their last six away games.

Player of the matchB. Verbruggen7 saves9.5

Y. Ayari1 goal7.8

E. Anderson3 chances created7.2

L. Dunk1 duels won7.1