Match ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 0, Manchester City 5.
Brighton 0-5 Manchester City: Raheem Sterling treble as City ease to victory
- From the section Premier League
Raheem Sterling scored his third hat-trick of the season as Manchester City swept Brighton aside to ensure they will finish in second place in the Premier League.
City had lost their three previous away league games, including a defeat at Southampton last Sunday, but they never looked like suffering another slip-up on their return to the south coast.
Sterling, who now has 27 goals in all competitions for City this season, inflicted most of the damage on a Brighton side who never managed to make the game a contest.
The England forward put Pep Guardiola's side ahead with a superb low finish from outside the area, collecting a Gabriel Jesus flick and cutting in from the left before firing into the opposite corner of the net.
More chances followed for City, and Jesus had a shot deflected against the bar before he got on the end of Rodri's knockdown from a corner to make it 2-0.
The punishment did not end there for the Seagulls, as City continued to pour forward with Kevin de Bruyne pulling the strings, although a 19th league assist of the season eluded him
The Belgian fired a free-kick against the post after half-time and it was his driving forward run that led to Riyad Mahrez crossing for Sterling to head home City's third goal at the far post.
Moments later it was 4-0, when Mat Ryan spilled Bernardo Silva's shot and the Portuguese followed up to tap home.
Sterling, whose previous hat-tricks came against West Ham and Italian side Atalanta, had the final word in bizarre fashion when he chased a pass into the area and saw the ball bounce off the back of his head and cross the line as he was challenged by Ryan.
Brighton were completely outclassed and did not manage a single shot on target.
More follows.
Line-ups
Brighton
- 1Ryan
- 22MontoyaSubstituted forLampteyat 59'minutes
- 15Webster
- 5Dunk
- 30Bernardo
- 18Mooy
- 24PröpperSubstituted forStephensat 59'minutes
- 8BissoumaBooked at 83mins
- 11TrossardSubstituted forJahanbakhshat 70'minutes
- 44ConnollySubstituted forMaupayat 59'minutes
- 13GroßSubstituted forBurnat 78'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Lamptey
- 4Duffy
- 6Stephens
- 7Maupay
- 10Mac Allister
- 16Jahanbakhsh
- 17Murray
- 27Button
- 33Burn
Man City
- 31Ederson
- 2Walker
- 50GarcíaSubstituted forStonesat 72'minutes
- 14Laporte
- 22MendySubstituted forZinchenkoat 64'minutes
- 17De BruyneSubstituted forSilvaat 64'minutes
- 16RodriSubstituted forFernandinhoat 72'minutes
- 20Bernardo Silva
- 26Mahrez
- 9Gabriel JesusSubstituted forFodenat 64'minutes
- 7Sterling
Substitutes
- 5Stones
- 11Zinchenko
- 21Silva
- 25Fernandinho
- 30Otamendi
- 33Carson
- 47Foden
- 69Doyle
- 80Palmer
- Referee:
- Graham Scott
Match Stats
Home TeamBrightonAway TeamMan City
- Possession
- Home29%
- Away71%
- Shots
- Home3
- Away26
- Shots on Target
- Home0
- Away8
- Corners
- Home2
- Away7
- Fouls
- Home7
- Away3
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 0, Manchester City 5.
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Adam Webster (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Tariq Lamptey (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Offside, Brighton and Hove Albion. Dale Stephens tries a through ball, but Bernardo is caught offside.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Lewis Dunk.
Offside, Brighton and Hove Albion. Aaron Mooy tries a through ball, but Bernardo is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.
Booking
Yves Bissouma (Brighton and Hove Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Fernandinho (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Yves Bissouma (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Goal!
Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion 0, Manchester City 5. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) header from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner.
Substitution
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Dan Burn replaces Pascal Groß.
Attempt missed. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by David Silva with a through ball.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City. Fernandinho replaces Rodrigo.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City. John Stones replaces Eric García.
Attempt blocked. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Alireza Jahanbakhsh replaces Leandro Trossard.
Rodrigo (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Yves Bissouma (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City. David Silva replaces Kevin De Bruyne.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City. Oleksandr Zinchenko replaces Benjamin Mendy.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City. Phil Foden replaces Gabriel Jesus.
Hand ball by Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City).
Attempt missed. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne.
Substitution
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Neal Maupay replaces Aaron Connolly.
Substitution
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Dale Stephens replaces Davy Pröpper.
Substitution
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Tariq Lamptey replaces Martín Montoya.
Goal!
Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion 0, Manchester City 4. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Gabriel Jesus.
Attempt saved. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Riyad Mahrez.
Eric García (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Pascal Groß (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Goal!
Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion 0, Manchester City 3. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) header from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Riyad Mahrez with a cross.
Offside, Brighton and Hove Albion. Yves Bissouma tries a through ball, but Bernardo is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Bernardo Silva.
Attempt missed. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right following a set piece situation.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) hits the left post with a right footed shot from outside the box from a direct free kick.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
