Brighton beat Manchester City 1–0 as Chelsea sink United 2–0

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Brighton won away at Manchester City for the first time with a 1–0 victory on Saturday, while Manchester United lost 2–0 at Chelsea in another damaging afternoon for the city’s two Premier League clubs.

Yasin Ayari scored the only goal at the Etihad Stadium, capitalising on an early defensive error. Matheus Nunes failed to clear a low cross, the ball struck Maxim De Cuyper and Ayari finished from close range.

City pushed for an equaliser but Bart Verbruggen helped preserve Brighton’s lead. Iliman Ndiaye went close with a header before the interval and was denied again after the restart, while Verbruggen also stopped a Nunes effort following Rayan Cherki’s introduction.

Brighton had chances to make the result more comfortable, including an opportunity De Cuyper sent over shortly after half-time. They ultimately needed only Ayari’s goal to reverse the outcome of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup meeting, which City had won on penalties.

The result brought Brighton their first victory on City’s ground at the 19th attempt. For Enzo Maresca’s side, it was a second successive Premier League defeat following the previous weekend’s 2–1 loss at Aston Villa.

Earlier at Stamford Bridge, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer scored after half-time as Chelsea recovered from defeats against Tottenham in the league and Liverpool in the League Cup.

United had threatened before the interval. Bruno Fernandes missed an opportunity after returning to the starting line-up, Amad Diallo tested Mike Penders and Matheus Cunha had a goal disallowed for offside.

Rogers put Chelsea ahead in the 50th minute after Roméo Lavia recovered possession in midfield. The England international advanced past Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martínez before lifting his finish over Senne Lammens.

Martínez received a second yellow card in the 63rd minute after making contact with Wesley Fofana’s face at a corner. A pitchside review also resulted in a penalty, which Palmer converted a minute later.

That was Palmer’s 50th Premier League goal for Chelsea, reached in 105 appearances. Estêvão Willian had goals ruled out for offside in both halves as Chelsea secured the points and left Michael Carrick’s United without a win in nine matches across all competitions.

Elsewhere, Fabio Silva’s 89th-minute equaliser earned Borussia Dortmund a 2–2 draw away to Bayern Munich in Der Klassiker. Konrad Laimer had put Bayern ahead before Serhou Guirassy levelled, and Dayot Upamecano restored the home lead. Harry Kane missed a penalty with the score at 1–0, hitting the crossbar, and later struck a post.