3 Up & 2 Down: Manchester City 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Manchester City are back to their winning ways, having dispatched Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 on Saturday. Here’s a look at what’s trending up and trending down after the match against BHA.

3 Up

The Destroyer of Worlds - Erling Haaland scored two more goals in front of the Etihad crowd. His second was a well-struck penalty that was one by Bernardo Silva, but the first came from the run of play. A long assist from Ederson found the Norwegian goal factory who chested the ball past Robert Sanchez, bowled over Adam Webster, and slotted the ball into the empty net.

KDB’s Right Foot - The Ginger Pelé was every inch a top-three Ballon d’Or player on Saturday. His movements and passing were dangerous throughout the match. His tenacity in chasing the ball when Brighton were in possession kept the pressure on the visitors. When the Seagulls made the inexcusable error of giving him yards of space just outside the penalty error, he punished them with a sublime shot from his magical right boot.

Photo by Lynne Cameron - Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Goals at the Etihad - The Manchester Blues have been on an absolute scoring tear at home this season. Pep Guardiola’s men have scored 27 times in 6 home Premier League matches (4.5 goals per match), and 34 when you include their two UCL matches (dropping them to 4.25). The scoring pace at home is torrid, to say the least, and it has made the City of Manchester Stadium a very difficult place for visitors to get a result.

2 Down

Bad Riyad - It may be more of Riyad being the least good of the Man City starters. Mahrez was actually decent to start and looked dangerous early. He missed a golden chance to extend City’s lead to 3-0 in the 53rd minute before receiving a yellow card in the 54th. That was pretty much the end of his day as he was subbed off for Phil Foden just 7 minutes later.

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Guarding the Post - Leandro Trossard is a fine player and Brighton’s leading scorer. The goal he scored on Saturday was a nice enough effort, but it was a chance the Ederson plainly should have saved. Eddie got to the Belgian’s shot from distance, but the ball glanced off his arm and past the near post.

All-in-all, a good win for the Champions at home, and certainly they have righted the ship as they now look forward to a mid-week UCL clash with Borussia Dortmund. What did you see trending on Saturday? Let us know in the comments.