Manchester City v Brighton player ratings: Haaland 9, De Bruyne 8; Trossard 7, Lallana 5

Norwegian striker scores twice as Premier League champions win 3-1 at Etihad Stadium

MANCHESTER CITY PLAYER RATINGS: Ederson – 6. Some questionable ball-handling and distribution led to an opportunity for Welbeck inside 10 minutes, though he redeemed himself when he picked up an assist when his long ball found Haaland. He should have done better with Trossard’s goal low to his corner. Getty

Joao Cancelo – 7. Tested defensively in the second half following the introduction of Lamptey, Cancelo was kept busy throughout. Getty

Ruben Dias – 6. Some uncharacteristic loose and wayward passes from the Portuguese defender as City looked far from their best. Getty

Aymeric Laporte – 7. The Spain international found good positions at attacking set pieces; one header spinning narrowly wide of the goal in the second half. Looked comfortable in defence. AAP

Manuel Akanji – 6. Playing in an unfamiliar position at right back, Akanji was caught out and gave Brighton space on the flank. Like Ederson, he could have done better with Trossard’s goal. PA

Kevin De Bruyne – 8. Continuously looked to get things started, he came close when he pressured Brighton’s defence into a mistake and was denied by a superb block by Dunk to double the lead. He made up for it when he was given space on the outside of the box, scoring an absolute beauty of a goal. Getty

Rodri – 7. Rodri was centre to much of City’s good work, picking up the ball from defence and distributing it to his attacking teammates. Made good use of his time on and off the ball. PA

Bernardo Silva – 7. Silva was all over the pitch, sparking City’s attack and pressing Brighton. He won a penalty for his side before half-time, but was also equally good in his recovery runs and defending. Getty

Riyad Mahrez – 6. Forced a save from Sanchez after the restart in a fast move by City and looked keen to impress ahead of the Champions League game. Was taken off just as he was turning up the gears. AP

Erling Haaland – 9. The in-form striker caused multiple problems despite Brighton’s efforts to deny him space. Haaland chased Ederson’s precise long ball and used his strength to brush off Webster to tap home. He doubled the lead before half-time from the spot. AP

Jack Grealish – 6. Worked tirelessly to drop deep and bring the ball forward, winning fouls in the process. All his play was missing was an end product. Getty

SUBS: Phil Foden (Mahrez 62’) – 7. Rested with Pep Guardiola looking ahead of their Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund, Foden had a lively cameo and switched between wings following Palmer’s introduction. Getty

Cole Palmer (Grealish 77’) – N/A. Lively but the youngster was likely surprised to find the ball at his feet in the closing stages, seeing the opportunity of a shot fade. AP

Julian Alvarez (Haaland 80’) - N/A. The late substitute was unable to see much of the ball to make an impact. Getty

BRIGHTON PLAYER RATINGS: Robert Sanchez – 4. The Brighton goalkeeper could only watch his counterpart’s long ball leave him stranded, with Haaland free to slot home. He had little opportunity to save Haaland’s penalty. Reuters

Joel Veltman – 5. A tough game for the Dutch wingback, with Veltman constantly under pressure and dealing with City’s attacks. Getty

Lewis Dunk – 4. The Brighton captain couldn’t deal with Haaland’s movement, the Norwegian leaving Dunk behind for the opener. Later, he felt he was judged harshly in a very delayed VAR penalty decision. Getty

Adam Webster – 5. Might have hoped to see Haaland’s first goal disallowed after he lost the physical battle against the City striker but the goal was deemed fair. Reuters

Solly March – 5. Seemed to have a little more freedom after half-time, with March enjoying time on the flank and testing City. Getty

Alexis Mac Allister – 5. The Brighton playmaker struggled to get time on the ball until after half-time, after which he saw a shot from outside the box finish just over the crossbar. Getty

Moises Caicedo – 5. Booked early on, Caicedo’s impact was reduced with the threat of a red card hanging over him. EPA

Leandro Trossard – 7. Gave Brighton a lifeline after half-time with his sixth goal of the season following a counter attack by the away side. Later, he beat Rodri in a sprint, but the Belgian overran the ball out for a goal-kick. Getty

Pascal Gross – 5. The German had moments on the ball but his end product wasn't good enough. Booked. AP

Adam Lallana – 5. Nutmegged down the flank by Mahrez in the first half, Lallana had little impact before he was substituted at half-time in favour of Lamptey. Reuters

Danny Welbeck – 6. Still on the hunt for his first goal of the season, Welbeck was unable to take advantage of an Ederson error when his ball to the flanks landed at his feet; the Brighton striker’s long distance effort was unable to trouble the goalkeeper. AFP

SUBS: Tariq Lamptey (Lallana 46’) – 7. The Brighton substitute brought plenty of energy to the pitch. Had a good chance but could only see a header go across the goal. PA

Pervis Estupinan (Veltman 66’) – 6. An injury forced Estupian’s introduction, and he saw a late shot blocked. Reuters

Deniz Undav (Welbeck 79’) – N/A. A largely anonymous cameo from the bench. Getty

Billy Gilmour (Mac Allister 87’) - N/A. A late introduction but couldn’t affect the outcome. Getty

Jeremy Sarmiento (Gross 87’) – N/A. Part of a late double change. AP

Erling Haaland struck twice and Kevin de Bruyne scored a stunning second-half goal as Manchester City earned a 3-1 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday.

The victory moved second-placed City on to 26 points after 11 games, one behind leaders Arsenal who visit Southampton on Sunday. Brighton are eighth on 15 points.

Haaland scored for the seventh consecutive home game in all competitions to give City the lead midway through the first half and then fired in a penalty in the 43rd minute after a VAR review ruled that visiting captain Lewis Dunk had fouled Bernardo Silva.

Brighton deservedly pulled back a goal early in the second half when Leandro Trossard rifled a shot under diving City goalkeeper Ederson from the edge of the area.

Trossard nearly found an equaliser when he tore down the left wing and towards goal but this time Ederson got the better of him and blocked the shot to force a corner.

City captain De Bruyne then killed off the visitors' hopes of snatching a point by curling a shot from outside the area high into the net in the 75th minute.

Assessing the performances at the Etihad, Emma James has provided her player ratings in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.