What Man City stars did after Brighton change exposes alarming £275m question

Manchester City played well for the first hour of their match against Brighton but the collapse was spectacular.

Manchester City lost a game they were in control of at Brighton

Manchester City are not where they need to be in May to be challenging for titles. At Brighton, they ended up far from where they need to be in August.

Last week's home defeat to Tottenham deflated all of the enthusiasm of the 4-0 start at Wolves, and with United and Arsenal first up after the international break - with an awkward Champions League game against Kevin De Bruyne's Napoli now between them - this had the makings of a testing trip.

Against a tricky side who beat the Blues in this fixture last year, could City show that they are relevant again despite the rise of what Pep Guardiola called the Premier League middle classes - the Brightons, Bournemouths, and Brentfords?

Yes was the answer for over an hour of an absorbing content at the Amex on Sunday. Erling Haaland gave them a deserved lead that they took into half-time, and as the second half progressed it seemed the visitors would get the next goal.

That would have given them so much confidence, as much for the way they had shut Brighton down and how Rodri had played through his first Premier League start in 11 months as the important three points it would have given. Instead, after a 2-1 reverse at the Amex Stadium for the second successive year, all the physical and psychological scars are back.

A quadruple Brighton change on the hour mark completely unsettled City, finally giving the Brighton fans something to cheer about rather than moan about innocuous or fair refereeing decisions. The problem for the Blues wasn't that it changed the game, it was that they had no response to any of it.

Suddenly there was no contest, City clinging on by their fingertips as Brighton streamed forward again and again. A James Milner penalty got them back on level terms almost instantly and then they went close several times - a terrific save from James Trafford deserved better than to be a footnote in a defeat - before Brajan Gruda put the final nail in their quickly-assembled coffin.

A win would have been small steps forward, particularly given it would have meant holding onto a 1-0 lead having lost from the same scoreline at the Amex Stadium last year. Instead, it felt like giant leaps back as the brittle nature and confidence of the squad was exposed again; Ederson, Manu Akanji, Ilkay Gundogan and Stefan Ortega all being with the squad when they could leave before Monday's transfer deadline added to the confusion.

City players used to be queueing up to score but on Sunday they ended up in a line to be taken off as Guardiola tried anything he could think of, unsuccessfully, to turn the tide. The question of when they can overturn the problems they suffered from last season remains unanswered, despite the £275million spend in the calendar year.

If they are to get to where they need to be by May, enormous change is still needed - and quickly.

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