Erling Haaland was back amongst the goals but was left furious with the defence as the champions sunk to a fourth consecutive defeat
Manchester City were on the verge of crisis when they arrived in Brighton and they were left in meltdown when they left as they let another lead slip and sunk to a 2-1 defeat, bringing up the worst run of losses of Pep Guardiola's tenure at the Etihad Stadium.
It had begun so well, Erling Haaland compensating for his wasteful night in Lisbon by powering them into a first-half lead. Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler delivered a tactical masterclass in the second half, though, and City were powerless to stop their rampant attacks.
The hosts let their opponents off the hook with some abysmal finishing but they finally got a deserved equaliser in the 78th minute through Joao Pedro. And then, five minutes later, debutant Matt O'Riley finished the job, leaving Guardiola with plenty of thinking to do over the international break.
GOAL rates Man City's players from the Amex Stadium…
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Ederson (6/10):
Point-blank save from Jack Hinshelwood although it was a nice height then shut down Kaoru Mitoma. Not much he could do about the goals.
Kyle Walker (4/10):
Not as bad as his nightmare display the last time he was on the south coast but still too passive, taken for a ride by Mitoma.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey (5/10):
Made some important interceptions but looked weak against Danny Welbeck. Had to take a booking to stop him then powerless to halt the waves of Brighton attacks.
Josko Gvardiol (5/10):
A good first half made way for a disastrous second. Flashed a header wide when City were chasing the game.
Rico Lewis (5/10)
Easily shoved out of the way for each goal and couldn't dominate the ball as he so often does.
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Ilkay Gundogan (6/10):
Looked more assured than in recent weeks and when he left the pitch City were 1-0 up.
Mateo Kovacic (7/10):
His passing was excellent in the first half, doing the hard work for Haaland's goal. Stood off too much in the second.
Matheus Nunes (6/10):
Some nice passages of play down the left but struggled defensively.
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Phil Foden (5/10):
Not incisive enough.
Erling Haaland (8/10):
Looked like his usual self, bulldozing defenders out of the way and linking up well with his team-mates.
Savinho (6/10):
Tricky and often threatening but shooting needs work as he is still waiting for a first goal for City.
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Bernardo Silva (5/10):
Didn't know how to handle Brighton's rampant attacking play.
Kevin De Bruyne (5/10):
Looked lethargic and played into Brighton's hands. And yet he almost scored the equaliser from range.
Pep Guardiola (4/10):
Had no idea how to tame Brighton in the second half and his substitutions only made things worse.