Brighton Stun Leaders Man City 1-0 at the Etihad

Manchester City's unhappy Halloween continued at the Etihad on Saturday as Brighton & Hove Albion won 1-0 to dent the Premier League leaders' title charge. Yasin Ayari struck the only goal of the game in the 11th minute, finishing off a slick visiting move to silence the home crowd and avenge Brighton's midweek League Cup defeat to the same opponents. City had arrived at the weekend still top of the table, but a second setback in eight days followed last week's first league defeat of the season at Aston Villa. Maresca's side pressed for an equaliser but could not find a way through a disciplined Brighton defence, and City's afternoon ended in frustration. The result leaves City on 21 points from nine matches, with Arsenal able to replace them at the summit if they avoid defeat at Liverpool on Sunday. Brighton, meanwhile, climb to 19 points and third place, underlining their status as genuine contenders at the top of the table. For City, back-to-back league defeats have turned a commanding start into a genuine title race, while Brighton will head into the international break believing they can stay in the fight.