SO is Phil Foden now Manchester City’s finest footballer or does Kevin De Bruyne remain the master?
Sorcerer or apprentice? Take your pick.
Either way, Pep Guardiola couldn’t give a stuff as his supernatural duo tormented Brighton and fired City into an unassailable three-goal lead inside 34 minutes.
City remained on course for an unprecedented fourth consecutive English league title and were even able to calm their manager’s tetchiness about burn-out by winning this one without breaking sweat.
De Bruyne opened the scoring with a masterpiece header – the first headed goal he has ever managed in the Premier League – and Foden swiftly followed with a brace before a second-half strike from Julian Alvarez.
Guardiola refers to Brighton away as one of the toughest fixtures of the season.
Not this time, it wasn’t. Not with Brighton ravaged by injuries, out of form and playing out from the back to such a ludicrous extent that you’d have thought they were suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder.
This was the polar opposite of the direct approach Sean Dyche’s Everton took in beating City’s title rivals Liverpool the previous evening and it got the polar opposite result.
City certainly didn’t miss the injured Erling Haaland. Indeed there is a genuine debate to be had about whether they are a better team without their Norse god of goals.
They are certainly a different team, a more fluid and aesthetically-pleasing one.
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City are a point behind Arsenal with a game in hand and while they still have three away matches among their remaining five league fixtures, it was difficult to imagine them dropping any more points while watching this.
Despite Guardiola’s whining about the fixture list, City had former Footballer of the Year Ruben Dias, England’s best defender John Stones and £100million Jack Grealish among his subs.
Meanwhile Brighton were decimated by injuries and had won just once in their previous eight league matches.
Roberto De Zerbi gave a full debut to teenage Argentinian left-back Valentin Barco, who was signed from Boca Juniors for £7.9million.
He blundered badly for Foden’s second but will presumably be sold to a Big Six club for ten times as much, because that’s what Brighton just do.
If there really are a bunch of people called ‘The Purists’ then they’d have clubbed together and bought a hospitality box for this fixture between England’s two most stylistically-lauded teams.
For the opening quarter of an hour it was chess on grass – Guardiola prowling his technical area, stroking his chin as Brighton played high-wire passes around their own penalty area.
Then Foden delivered a free-kick from the left and an unmarked Nathan Ake failed to control his shot at the far post.
No matter, within a couple of minutes, City were ahead – Foden fed Kyle Walker whose airbound cut-back was met by De Bruyne with the sort of flying long-range header a performing seal might make. Give the lad a mackerel.
This was his 255th appearance in the competition and the first time he’s scored with his bonce.
KDB puts Man City Ahead!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 25, 2024pic.twitter.com/W5TSUPQmBr
Yet it was quite some header – shades of Robin Van Persie’s classic Puskas Award nominee at the 2014 World Cup.
Suddenly, Brighton were being picked apart and Alvarez drove wide across goal before Foden’s darting run and tumble earned a controversial free-kick on the edge of the box.
Foden ignored chants of ‘cheat!’ and drilled his shot through a hole in the wall, Manuel Akanji ducking to make space, and the ball cannoned in off the back of Pascal Gross.
It was the England man’s 23rd goal of the season, and the 24th arrived soon after.
This was where Brighton’s tightrope routine ended up with them falling to earth without a safety net.
As they played triangles in their own box, poor young Barco was dispossessed by Bernardo Silva, allowing Foden a comfy first-time finish.
It was just done after 35 minutes and little wonder that Guardiola always praises Brighton so highly, as they allow his team to score goals such as that one.
Straight after half-time Brighton had a decent penalty shout turned down when Rodri dragged down Gross.
The fourth showed De Zerbi the merits of mixing it up – a punt from Ederson sent Walker charging through on goal and he skinned Barco before beating keeper Jason Steele to the loose ball and allowing Alvarez to stab home.
Brighton certainly should have had a penalty soon after when Joao Pedro’s barnstorming ended with Josko Gvardiol shoving him in the back.
Ref Jarred Gillett, from a land down under, must have been playing Aussie rules. Not that it would have made any difference to the outcome.
De Bruyne and Foden got an early cut, making way for Grealish and Matheus Nunes midway through the second half.
And City now head to Nottingham Forest, where they seem to spend more time working out the allegiance of the VAR than the merits of the opposition.
It is difficult to imagine them slipping up at the City Ground, nor anywhere else.
SEE HOW IT HAPPENED…
