MAN CITY - Home, Falmer years: 17/18 - 20/21 Prem, seasons 7 - 10.
Manager - Pep Guardiola (2016) - Wins = 72.1% @ Aug '20 . Etihad, ave gate; 54K, cap; 55K . Nickname: Citizens . Shirt: light blue.
Prem record from 11/12 to 20/21; 1, 2, 1, 2, 4, 3 / 1, 1, 2, 1 @ 20/4/21 . . . . Best finish = 1st, Worst finish = 4th.
C21; Title - 4 times, Runners-up - 3 times, top four - 3 times, top six - once, top ten - 4 times . Relegated - 1 time.
Podiums; 19/20 - Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd . 18/19 - Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea . 17/18 - Man City, Man Utd, Tottenham.
16/17 - Chelsea, Spurs, Man City . 14/15 - Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal . 13/14 - Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea.
12/13 - Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea . 11/12 - Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal.
Points last decade: 71, 89, 78, 86, 79, 66, 78, 100, 98, 81, (71).
Recent managers; Manuel Pelligrini (2013-16), Roberto Mancini (2009-13).


20/21 odds at start: title 8-11 fav, top nw 4-6 . Sack Guardiola 25/1.
Run in from 2/4/21: Leicester 0-2 (A), Leeds 1-2 (H), Villa (A), So'ton 5-2 (H), Palace (A), Chelsea (H), Newcastle (A), Brighton (A), Everton (H).
Run in *forecast @ 2/4/21: 71 > *89pts, Max = 95 . Actual = 74 . Po = 1st, Best poss = top . Actual po = 1st

MAN CITY away:
Seasn . W D L . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . W% L%
20/21 - 11 3 1 . 30 08 22 . 36 1 = 2.40 48.6 . 73.3 06.6 - P Guardiola.
19/20 - 11 1 7 . 45 22 23 . 34 2 = 1.78 41.9 . 57.8 36.8 - Pep Guardiola, finish 25/7/20.
18/19 - 14 2 3 . 38 11 27 . 44 1 = 2.31 44.8 . 73.6 15.7 - Pep Guardiola.
17/18 - 16 2 1 . 45 13 32 . 50 1 = 2.63 50.0 . 84.2 05.2 - Pep Guardiola.
16/17 - 12 2 5 . 43 22 21 . 38 3 = 2.00 48.7 . 63.1 26.3 - Pep Guardiola.
15/16 - 07 7 5 . 24 20 04 . 28 4 = 1.47 42.4 . 36.8 26.3 - Manuel Pellegrini.
14/15 - 10 4 5 . 39 24 15 . 34 2 = 1.78 43.0 . 52.6 26.3 - Manuel Pellegrini.
13/14 - 10 4 5 . 39 24 15 . 34 1 = 1.78 39.5 . 52.6 26.3 - Manuel Pellegrini.

Albion v City (H) from 17/18: 0-2, 1-4, 0-5, ? . . W = 0 D = 0 L = 3

Season10, 4th Premier League (H) tba for 18-20 May (initially Sat 15/5/21 - 15:00)
***date critical attendance restrictions of 10k home fans*** (post-lockdown, Tier 3/4/5 = 0 fans, T2 = 2000, T1 = 4000).
Discussions for H & A crowd numbers finalised at 10k total home fans.
This was the last home fixture in a campaign that began in September. Brighton fans had witnessed a belated season's summer thrashing here last term, albeit from viewing tv broadcasts while locked out or down during the ongoing coronavirus crisis - see season9 below. Graham Potter learnt a lot from a curve that had taken him through ups & downs of being a rookie in the Prem. We were never going to match City by fair means or foul but such defeat was still hard to take given unusual times, empty domestic place of weekend worship and extended mitigating circumstances. So today's exercise was in being conscious of psychological moments, stadium atmosphere, prevailing skill sets and goal difference. We were entertaining champions elect, so deja vu was likely. However to what extent was open to speculation, calculation and possible interjection of fickle finger of fate.
* * * Post match report to follow here later.
Stats: ht 0-0, goals 0-0, poss 50%-50%, on target 0-0, off target 0-0, corners 0-0, fouls 0-0, yellows 0-0, subs 0-0, shape 442-442 . Weather: tba
Team: tba . Bench: tba .
Squad: tba . Injured: tba . MoM: tba
Prem: P37 . W D L . F A . W D L . F A . Pt Po = x.xxxpt/gm. Wins = x%, Loss = x%

Man City:
Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total: 32 . 23 05 04 . 67 23 44 . 74 1 = 2.31 . 71.8 12.5
3qtrs: 29 . 21 05 03 . 61 21 40 . 68 1 = 2.34 . 72.4 10.3
Hfwy: 19 . 12 05 02 . 36 13 23 . 41 1 = 2.15 . 63.1 10.5
Start: 10 . 05 03 02 . 17 11 06 . 18 7 = 1.80 . 50.0 20.0 - P Guardiola.
Champions League: s-f - . q-f - B Dortmund 2-1 (H) 1-2 (A) . 16 - B M'gladbach 0-2 (A) 2-0 (H) . group - Porto 3-1 (H) 0-0 (A), Olympiakos 3-0 (H) 0-1 (A), Marseille 0-3 (A) 3-0 (H).
EFL Cup: Spurs final, Man Utd 0-2 (A) s-f, Arsenal 1-4 (A) q-f, Burnley 0-3 (A) R4, Bournemouth 2-1 (H) R3.
FA Cup: Chelsea 1-0 s-f, Everton 0-2 (A) q-f, Swansea 1-3 (A) R5, Cheltenham 1-3 (A) R4, Birmingham 3-0 (H) R3.
Nov: after the first quarter ended, City were 7th in the Prem table, 6pts behind the top two.
Jan: at the halfway stage City were top of the league by one point.
Mar: threequarters completed saw City way out in front and the title theirs to lose.
May:

Season9, 3rd Premeir League (H) Sat 11/7/20 - L 0-5.
PL suspended until restarted 17/6/20 after Sat 25/4/20 postponed. Revised to a weekend evening fixture played behind closed doors without fans attending.
This was one of nine run-in matches postponed when the PL got suspended from mid March beyond usual May finish due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, hosting City was the penultimate home fixture and final one of four big-six sides BHA sequentially entertained during the run-in. The question was - where exactly were those extra survival points coming from?
Albion didn't just lose they were blown away, thrashed, played off the park and humiliated by vastly superior opponents. And it was all down to the Potter ball method of taking the game to opposition and making them earn whatever they could. Well, it was just what City wanted, a nice open game where they could control play, show their football and run rings around a much less than very average side. BHA were never at the races, which is an appropriate phrase because we lack pace in most departments for sure. The team had a collective mare to boot. Potter didn't worry too much afterwards as he was thinking about the future. Albion would be in the div again due to having three worse sides below as usual. Brighton fans could see a clearout from the squad coming and hoped for Prem quality signings. The trouble was it takes time to build an outfit capable of competing in the elite and if not, it was merely a matter of seasons running out until inevitable relegation. Tony Bloom knew that when he fired Chris Hughton and is gambling on keeping enough edge to come out ahead in future. Only time will tell.
stats: shape 4222-43, ht 0-2, goals 21,44,53,56,81, poss 29%-71%, on target 0-8, off target 3-12, crosses 8-21, corners 2-7, o/s 6-1, blocks 0-6, tackles 12-17, fouls 7-3, yellows 1-0, subs - 5-5 (5/9) . MoM - Dunk . Gate - 0 . Weather - clear & mild.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya (2 Lamptey 59), 15 Webster, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo, 18 Mooy, 24 Propper (6 Stephens 59), 8 Bissouma Y, 13 Gross
(33 Burn 77), 11 Trossaard (16 Jahanbakhsh 69), 44 Connolly (7 Maupay 59) . Subs (5/9) - 27 Button, 4 Duffy, 10 Mac Allister, 17 Murray.
Squad - 20 March, 21 Schelotto, 25 Kayal . Injured - 19 Izquierdo, 46 Alzate.
Prem: P35 . W5 D6 L7 . F20 A27 . W3 D6 L8 . F16 A25 . Pt36 Po15 = 1.02pt/gm. Wins = 22.8%, Loss = 42.8%

Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total: 38 . 26 03 09 . 102 35 67 . 81 2 = 2.13 . 68.4 23.6 - finish 27/7/20.
3qtrs: 29 . 19 03 07 .. 71 31 40 . 60 2 = 2.06 . 65.5 24.1 PREM SUSPENDED
Hfwy: 19 . 12 02 05 .. 52 23 29 . 38 3 = 2.00 . 63.1 26.3
Start: 10 . 07 01 02 .. 32 09 23 . 22 2 = 2.20 . 70.0 20.0 - P Guardiola.
Champions League: q-f - Lyon L 3-1. Last 16 - R Madrid 1-2 (A) 2-1 (H).
group - Shakhtar 1-1 (H) 0-3 (A), D Zagreb 2-0 (H) 1-4 (A), Atalanta 5-1 (H) 1-1 (A).
EFL Cup: final - Villa W 1-2, s-f - Man Utd 0-1 (H), 1-3 (A), q-f - Oxford 1-3 (A), 4th rnd - Southampton 3-1 (H), 3rd rnd - Preston 0-3 (A)
FA Cup: Arsenal L 2-0 s-f, Newcastle 0-2 (A) q-f, Sheff Wed 0-1 (A) R5, Fulham 4-0 (H) R4, Port Vale 4-1 (H) R3.
Aug; unbeaten but chasing Liverpool for top spot like last term.
Oct: steady second position but six points adrift by end of first quarter Q1.
New Year: chasing 2nd Prem club, qual for last 16 of Ch Lg and in FAC4 draw.
March: second in table but 25pts adrift when PL suspended. EFL Cup winners. Into FAC last eight. Last 16 Champ Lg.
July: conceded title to Liverpool by end of June. Runners up mid July. FAC s-f. Champions League ban overturned by CAS. Ch Lg q-f.

Season8 2nd Premier League (H) Sunday 12/5/19 - L 1-4 ~ Murray.
This was the very last game of all in the second PL campaign. And Albion had already played City twice this season; away in the first Prem fixture and recently in a FA Cup semi-final tie at Wembley during mid April - also see away section. The situation now was that BHA had already survived to figure a third term in the elite, while City had to equal rival Liverpool's score to take the title again.
In a nutshell, Albion were thrashed and at end of the day, winners win and losers... Anyway, Seagulls opened the scoring from Murray at a Gross corner (27min) but after that it went downhill quickly. City equalised straight away (28min) and took the lead prior to halftime with a corner routine (38min). The second period was pretty much one way traffic and champions elect turned on the class to score twice again (63 & 72mins) and thus retain the title. Bruno was subbed late and received a standing ovation as he'd already announced his retirement before the match. Chris Hughton said, 'the summer will be big for us, to analyse where we could do better. We need to do better next year and will work hard to do that.' The next day he was sacked by Tony Bloom who said, 'I wish Chris, Paul (Trollope) and Paul (Nevin) every success for the future and thank them on behalf of everyone at the club.' Brighton fans were left in shock but by & large could understand Bloom's reasons for taking action, given his ambition to make Albion a regular Prem outfit. And not just fighting threats of the dreaded drop year on year. The club had come from 'gutter to the stars' right on thru this century and Bloom intended to remain comfortable in the elite for many a year to come.
Stats; ht 1-2, goals 27-28,38,63,72, shape 451-433, poss 24%-76%, on target 2-9, off target 4-11, o/s 1-1, corners 2-6, fouls 12-8, yellows 0-0, subs 3-3 . Gate 30,662 . Weather - sunny . MoM - Bruno
1 Ryan, 2 Bruno (22 Montoya 84), 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo, 11 Knockaert, 13 Gross, 7 Kayal, 8 Bissouma, 16 Jahanbakhsh (9 Locadia 67), 17 Murray (10 Andone 67) . Subs - 27 Button, 3 Bong, 33 Burn, 49 Molumby.
Prem P38 . W6 D5 L8 . F19 A28 . W3 D4 L12 . F16 A32 . Pt36 Po17 = 0.94pt/gm. Wins = 23.6%, Loss = 52.6%

Season8 FA Cup S-F @ Wembley - 6/4/19 - L 1-0
See report in 'away' section below.

Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total; 38 . 32 02 04 . 95 23 72 . 98 1 = 2.57 . 84.2 10.5
3qtrs; 29 . 23 02 04 . 76 20 56 . 71 1 = 2.44 . 79.3 13.7
Hfwy; 19 . 14 02 03 . 51 15 36 . 44 3 = 2.31 . 73.6 15.7 - Guardiola.
Start; 10 . 08 02 00 . 27 03 24 . 26 1 = 2.60 . 80.0 00.0
Champions League; qf - Spurs 1-0 (A) 4-3 (H), 16 - Schalke 2-3 (A) 7-0 (H).
group - Shaktar 0-3 (A) 6-0 (H), Lyon 1-2 (H) 2-2 (A), Hoffenheim 1-2 (A) 2-1 (H).
EFL Cup; won final - Chelsea 0-0 aet 4-3 pens, s-f - Burton 9-0 (H) 0-1 (A), q-f - Leics 1-3 pens 1-1 (A), 4th rnd - Fulham 2-0 (H),
3rd rnd - Oxford 0-3 (A)
FA Cup; won final - Watford 6-0, s-f - Brighton 1-0, q-f - Swansea 2-3 (A), 5th rnd - Newport 1-4 (A), 4th rnd - Burnley 5-0 (H),
3rd rnd - Rotherham 7-0 (H)
Aug; target - not lose anything home & abroad. Law of averages (for accumulators) decides which events effectively follow cause & effect.
October; unbeaten & vying at top of the table with title rivals Liverpool. Still in EFL Cup.
New Year; small dip in very best form but beat Liverpool and so challenging for top spot. FA Cup progress.
March; in a match with L'pool for title. Champ Lg q-f, FA Cup semis, EFL Cup winners.

Season7 1st Premier League (H) 12/8/17 - L 0-2.
It was a lovely day in August and Brighton fans began arriving at the Amex exterior concourses & internal bars during long hours prior to a Saturday teatime kickoff. Playing in the Premier League had become reality and this was opening day on a journey into the unknown. Chris Hughton, banked by Tony Bloom to the tune of 35million and counting, had gotten in several new faces from European footy. Maty Ryan, Pascal Gross, Markus Suttner & Davy Propper were four such players now debuting in the elite. Izzy Brown also came in on loan from Chelsea. Whether the squad as a whole could cut the mustard here and on the road in future was quite open to conjecture - bookies had BHA at 5-4 2nd fav to go down. But Chris Hughton was believably merely 20/1 to get sacked.
Albion held out against title favs for 70 minutes before conceding and in truth never looked like they could compete over & above a hopeful stalemate. Brown was injured and replaced by Murphy halfway thru the initial period. Hughton swapped Hemed for Murray on the hour and immediately following the second goal, pulled off March for Knockaert. City caught Seagulls out of shape in m-f and had men spare to force the first score (70min). Dunk then headed past Ryan from a high centre five minutes later (75min). Both clubs were previously used to winning but expectation for the future was radically polarized today. The hosts were timid compared to visitors and most of the play was in Brighton's half. Speed of thought, action and execution prevailed from City's game plan. They pushed the ball about, patient for an opening to develop. When chances came they took them. It was a steep learning curve for BHA, club, team & fans alike.
Stats; shape 4411-3142, ht 0-0, goals 70,75, poss 22%-78%, on target 2-4, off target 2-5, blocks 2-5, crosses 8-27, corners 3-10, o/s 6-1,
tackles 11-10, fouls 6-9, yellows 0-2, subs 3-3 . Attendance 30,415 - ground record (away 3025).
1 Ryan, 2 Bruno, 22 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 29 Suttner, 20 March (11 Knockaert), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper,
37 Brown (15 Murphy), 13 Gross, 10 Hemed (17 Murray).
Prem P1 . W0 D0 L1 . F0 A2 . Pt0 Po19 = 0.00pt/gm . Wins = 0%, Loss = 100%

Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total; 38 . 32 04 02 .106 27 79 .100 1 = 2.63 . 84.2 05.2 - Pep Guardiola.
3qtrs; 29 . 25 03 01 . 83 20 63 . . 78 1 = 2.68 . 86.2 03.4
Hfwy; 19 . 18 01 00 . 60 12 48 . . 55 1 = 2.89 . 94.7 00.0
Start; 10 . 09 01 00 . 35 06 29 . . 28 1 = 2.80 . 90.0 00.0
Aug - a big bid for the title, get to finals abroad and picking up the odd cup too.
New Year - all the four trophies are still a possiblity.
March - title in the bag. EFL Cup finalists. Knocked out of FA Cup by a League One side. Champions League Q-F.

MAN CITY PREVIOUS PREM;
Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
19/20 - 26 3 9 .102 35 67 . 81 2 = 2.13 . 68.4 23.6 - P Guardiola. PL SUSPENDED, complete @ 27/7/20
City played super football, so it was unexpected to find they'd lost several matches in chasing a possible third title.
18/19 - 32 2 4 . 95 23 72 . 98 1 = 2.57 84.2 10.5 - P Guardiola.
A mega season recorded by any Prem standards, including winning FA Cup & League Cup to boot.
17/18 - 32 4 2 .106 27 79 .100 1 = 2.64 . 84.2 05.2 - Pep Guardiola.
PG burst onto the Prem scene last season with a big reputation in Europe. In the event things went from being a tad flat to the Spaniard now crowned king of the Prem at very least.
16/17 - 23 9 6 . 80 39 41 . 78 3 = 2.05 . 60.5 15.7 - Pep Guardiola.
Team, manager & fans expected success, so was 3rd place a disappointment and no cups to boot? Bet your bottom Euro it was!
15/16 - 19 9 10 . 71 41 30 . 66 4 = 1.73 . 50.0 26.3 - Manuel Pelligrini.
Finishing fourth as Citizens commitment to the cause imploded, highlighted the end for the manager after a 3 year turn on the Manchester merrygoround.
14/15 - 24 7 7 . 83 38 45 . 79 2 = 2.07 . 63.1 18.4 - Manuel Pelligrini.
The Chilean coach was runner-up but Citizens were apparently nowhere as 2nd best, in a division where no.1 is all & everything.
13/14 - 27 5 6 . 102 37 65 . 86 1 = 2.26 . 71.0 15.7 - Manuel Pelligrini.
Critics of Roberto Mancini's 12/13 squad expansion & management, or rather supposed lack of both, were placated by 'better' results from equally capable Manuel Pelligrini.

FA CUP from 13/14; q-f, 4th rnd, 5th, s-f, q-f, winners, s-f, s-f
LEAGUE CUP; winners, 4th rnd, winners, 4th, winners, winners, winners, ?
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE; last 16, last 16, s-f, last 16, q-f, q-f, q-f, ?.
* * * * *
Falmer years: from 2011 to 2017, no meetings.

Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 -
Season10 24/9/08 (H) - EFL Cup R2.

Man City - Away, Falmer years: 17/18 - 20/21 Prem, season 7 - 10 . '19 FA Cup, season8.
MAN CITY @ home; The Etihad.
Seasn . W D L . F A GD . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L%
20/21 - 12 2 3 . 37 15 22 . 38 1 = 2.23 51.3 . 70.5 17.6 - P Guardiola.
19/20 - 15 2 2 . 57 13 44 . 47 2 = 2.47 58.0 . 78.9 10.5 - Pep Guardiola, finish 27/7/20.
18/19 - 18 0 1 . 57 12 45 . 54 1 = 2.84 55.1 . 94.7 05.2 - Pep Guardiola.
17/18 - 16 2 1 . 61 14 47 . 50 1 = 2.63 50.0 . 84.2 05.2 - Pep Guardiola.
16/17 - 11 7 1 . 37 17 20 . 40 3 = 2.10 51.2 . 57.8 05.2 - Pep Guardiola.
15/16 - 12 2 5 . 47 21 26 . 38 4 = 2.00 57.5 . 63.1 26.3 - Manuel Pellegrini.
14/15 - 14 3 2 . 44 14 30 . 45 2 = 2.36 56.9 . 73.6 10.5 - Manuel Pellegrini.
13/14 - 17 1 1 . 63 13 50 . 52 1 = 2.73 60.4 . 89.4 05.2 - Manuel Pellegrini.

City v Albion (A) from 17/18: 3-1, 2-0, 4-0, 1-0 . . W = 0 D = 0 L = 4

Season10, 4th Premier League (A) Wed 13/1/21 - L 1-0
Covid restrictions - lockdown3, no fans attending (Tier 3/4/5).
This midweek fixture quickly followed the third pause (for weekend FA Cup ties) during a Prem campaign which had started in mid September, a month late, compared to normally. That was because of delayed completion of the previous season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic - see season9 in the home section above. Any trip to the light blue part of Manchester during previous Prem seasons hadn't gendered much optimism to anticipate positive returns ahead of this fourth visit. Cause for concern was the number of goals conceded in past fixtures compared to how many Albion might score. Putting these stats aside, Graham Potter was charged with getting better results this season from his preferred method of play. That meant going forward as a team on the pitch and off it too. Thus his dilemma today was along lines of balancing this result against satisfactory levels of performance and ongoing degrees of confidence. Before kickoff Albion were currently struggling again at this grade and therefore Potter was already up against it to receive any kind of positive plaudits for what happened next. The transfer window was open but BHA got a no show return as we went to press, albeit Percy Tau had returned from on loan in Belgium.
Albion lost again, an eighth defeat this term so far and are only hanging on to 17th by skin of proverbial teeth. It wasn't that Seagulls played badly, in fact we'd held our own. But over a full 90+ minutes something was always gonna give at the back. City scored just prior to halftime with a trademark smart move (44min). They continued with better stats throughout to nick a single goal victory by law of averages. Albion drew a blank, a fail to score stat and thereby hangs the tale of why we're now in 17th position looking over shoulders. The hard truth is that deserving to get something is not the same as actually getting a point and we can't keep using this old excuse for failing to reach a basic 20 points by the halfway stage of 19 games completed. Back in September BHA analysis guys wouldn't have marked this fixture down for +3pts, so the rot musta set in awhile ago on the long road to Prem survival. The question now was, what was Bloom, Ashworth, Potter and other usual suspects gonna do about it?
Stats: ht 1-0, goal 44, poss 65%-35%, on target 6-1, off target 10-4, o/s 2-2, corners 8-4, fouls 4-12, yellows 0-2, subs 2-3, shape 433-433 . Weather: wet.
Team: 26 Sanchez, 34 Veltman Y, 4 Webster Y, 5 Dunk, 33 Burn, 3 White, 24 Propper (20 March 68), 30 Bernardo, 22 Tau (9 Maupay 68),
10 Mac Allister, 11 Trossard (67 Khedra 86) . Subs: 31 Walton, 41 Sanders, 47 Jenks, 29 Zeqiri . Squad: 1 Ryan, 23 Steele, 15 Moder,
19 Izquierdo . Injured: 2 Lamptey, 7 Connolly, 14 Lallana, 16 Jahanbakhsh, 17 Alzate, 18 Welbeck . Ban: 8 Bissouma . MoM: Mac Allister
Prem: P18 . W0 D5 L4 . F10 A15 . W2 D3 L4 . F11 A14 . Pt14 Po17 = 0.77pt/gm. Wins = 11.1%, Loss = 44.4%

Season9, 3rd Premier League (A) Sat 31/8/19 - L 4-0.
The good news beforehand was we'd get this tough away match put to bed very early on our excursions. The bad news was BHA were scheduled to visit four more top-six giants by first week of December and the fifth on Boxing Day. That meant a long first-half haul, in all senses, to go gather such invaluable points from travels on the road. In fact Chelsea were scheduled next month and then from early Nov things looked difficult. Man Utd, Liverpool & Arsenal came in an away row to further test team & travelling support on the biggest metropolitan PL stages.
Goals went into Albion's net at 2,42,55 & 79 minutes to not only test belief but also credibility in the method employed under Potter for advancing BHA on the long road ahead toward a proposed future 'top-half' Prem position. We know each journey begins with a single step but this appeared one giant leap for Seagulls-kind at such an early stage in progression. Tony Bloom, his face alternately a blue & white vision of exasperation & agony in many a directors box last term, wanted positive change to match such lofty ambition. But like supportive Brighton fans, could merely put on a brave smile today. It wasn't that Albion just parked the bus or couldn't play offensive football, indeed even Pep Guardiola was full of praise, however one thing stood out... no goals scored. So in a sense this became a practice match, irrespective of the result, in order to get up to speed for meeting teams (apart from top six) we might actually take points from over coming months. Potter said, 'the performance was one of real courage. We wanted to test ourselves against the very best and can take something from it.' All very well but reducing the title-holders possession to nearer parity wasn't enough to hold back the onrushing tide of meaningful, direct & high quality goal-scoring options. Against lesser opposition we'd surely need to keep a clean sheet. And to win, find the net by any means available. No strategy could define how many goals any particular set-up could get, that was down to individuals capable of doing such at this level.
Stats; shape 433-541, h-t 2-0, goals 2,42,55,79, poss 54%-46%, on target 6-2, off target 8-1, blocks 1-3, crosses 15-10, corners 8-1, o/s 1-3, tackles 15-17, fouls 10-6, yellows 1-1, subs 3-3 . Gate 54,386, away 1506 . Weather - sun & showers . MoM - Stephens.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya, 15 Webster, 5 Dunk Y, 33 Burn, 30 Bernardo (17 Murray 67), 11 Trossard (13 Gross 74), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 20 March, 7 Maupay (44 Connolly 67) . Subs - 27 Button, 4 Duffy, 18 Mooy, 16 Jahanbakhsh.
Ban - 10 Andone . Squad - 3 Bong, 8 Bissouma, 14 Balogun . Injured - 19 Izquierdo, 21 Schelotto.
Prem P4 . W0 D1 L1 . F1 A3 . W1 D0 L 1. F3 A4 . Pt4 Po16 = 1.00pt/gm. Wins = 25%, Loss = 50%

Season8 (A) FA Cup semi-final @ Wembley - 6/4/19 - L 1-0.
The story so far was that previously Albion had fortunately beaten Championship strugglers Millwall at the Den on penalties aet in the q-f tie to reach the final four. They then were last ball out of the draw bowl and therefore pitched against mighty City by default. But it hadn't been too hard a pathway to get here, as apart from beating Lions, Seagulls had also serially defeated fellow level2 outfits Rams at the Amex, Baggies aet in replay at the Hawthorns and PL club Cherries at the Vitality stadium to boot. Those 4 victories had seen us progress with more than a fair sprinkling of good luck and now many considered this an early evening bit of indulgence wearing blue & white (we won that toss at least), being up for the cup at Wembley but with very little hope of returning to the national stad during May.
Albion got knocked out in the first five minutes. Clinical play thru our gaps got City the winner early doors (4min). But Seagulls, backed by around 35k fans in the national stadium, didn't fold and tried to make a game of it. We were on a hiding to nothing either way but strung a few passes together when not actually defending. Hughton put Andone, Izquierdo & Locadia into the mix, although getting a goal back seemed just as hard at the end as beginning. Duffy pushed up late with twin strikers but to no avail for netting an equaliser. Hughton said, 'we have done especially well to regroup after going behind so early. I can't believe there were too many people thought they wouldn't win two or three nil. It's incredibly difficult against them. If you open up thinking to score 2 or 3, they will score 5 or 6.' Brighton fans had a nice day out, applauded the team at the death with a standing ovation then discussed the forthcoming Prem survival battle at the Amex next week.
Stats; ht 1-0, goal 4, shape 433-4141, poss 70%-29%, on target 4-2, off target 5-3, blocks 4-0, o/s 0-1, crosses 30-15, corners 9-4, tackles 15-9, fouls 13-7, yellows 2-2, subs 3-3 . MoM - Knockaert . Gate; 72,521 away 34,155 . Weather - cool & dry.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk Y72, 30 Bernardo, 8 Bissouma (Locadia 82), 6 Stephens, 24 Propper, 11 Knockaert,
17 Murray (10 Andone 65), 16 Jahanbakhsh Y32 (19 Izquierdo 70) . Subs - 27 Button, 2 Bruno, 3 Bong, 33 Burn.

Season8 2nd Premier League (A) Sat 29/9/18 - L 2-0.
Games at title holders don't come much harder, considering Albion's opening 2 months fixtures this term. We'd already played Man Utd 3-2, Fulham 2-2 & Spurs 1-2 (H), Watford 2-0, Liverpool 1-0 & Soton 2-2 (A) and now visited City, just a few weeks since being outclassed here at very end of last term. History suggested another defeat but each game started back at zero, so in a sense what happened previously was only on paper, rather than grass. BHA was behind schedule points-wise, being less than 1pt/gm minimum average, therefore needed to try and keep a first clean sheet for a start.
Everything changes and nothing changes, in so far as it was early in the season rather than late but the result was yet another away defeat. City ran rings round us, especially on the counter which provided both goals. Seagulls defended desperately at times but sheer weight of stats told against holding it down to nil-nil. And up front we didn't turn up again. The first went in after losing the ball going forward and chasing back to no avail when outpaced (29min). The second was a similar burst of speed with tiki-taka movement as per Guardiola's Barca mantra (65min). Albion offered little in offensive opposition. Hughton introduced 3 late subs but the game was up well prior to a trademark token effort by visitors at the death. Hughton said, 'you can get beat big here. I'm most disappointed with their second - we should have stopped it.' Brighton fans could see the gulf in quality and were coming to realise what was required at this level just to stay in the game, let alone score goals. We hoped BHA squad players would take those standards on board as well.
Stats; shape 433-451, h-t 1-0, goals 29,65, poss 80%-20%, on target 8-1, off target 13-1, blocks 7-2, crosses 29-8, corners 10-3, o/s 0-2,
tackles 15-15, fouls 4-10, yellows 0-3, subs 3-3 . Gate 54,152, away 2809.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya Y87, 4 Duffy Y42, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong, 11 Knockaert Y9 (16 Jahanbakhsh 79), 7 Kayal, 8 Bissouma, 24 Propper,
20 March (19 Izquierdo 84), 9 Locadia (17 Murray 70) . Subs - 27 Button, 2 Bruno, 30 Bernardo, 14 Balogun.
Prem P7 . W1 D1 L1 . F6 A6 . W0 D1 L 3. F2 A7 . Pt5 Po14 = 0.71pt/gm. Wins = 14.2%, Loss = 57.1%

Season7 1st Premier League (A) Wednesday 9/5/18 - L 3-1 ~ Ulloa.
This fixture was originally listed for Sat 17 March but got rescheduled due to Albion's FAC Q-F tie played on that date and then delayed yet again because of City's busy Champions League commitments. In the event BHA latterly went to the runaway title winners already safe from the drop and not needing any points at all to stay up for a further term in the PL. Beforehand Brighton fans breathed a sigh of relief for that mercy, knowing club, team & support could face this May fixture with much less intensity, after our own season of relative success for the previous elite league new boys.
Albion were outclassed on the night and predictably couldn't hold a candle to title winners. City opened the scoring with a typical run & pass while visitors stood around watching (16min). But Seagulls hit back quickly when Ulloa headed home Proppers cross (20min). They were behind again prior to h-t when once more opened up a little too easily & given the run around (34min). In the second period there was only one winner as the home team grabbed a third from a short corner routine (72min). Hughton immediately sent on Kayal & Locadia and later March but the game was up long ago. He said, 'at 2-1 we we still in it and had opportunities to break. They press so quickly to get possession and it's very difficult. The 3rd goal hurt us the most.' Brighton fans weren't too distraught with the result and to date we'd not been beat by more than two goals on the long road around PL grounds. At end of the day Albion had the chance to do all those miles again next term and maybe improve poor away form to boot.
Stats; shape 433-4411, ht 2-1, goals 16,34,76-20, poss 74%-26%, on target 7-3, off target 8-3, corners 4-3, o/s 1-2,
fouls 5-7, yellows 0-1, subs 3-3 . Gate 54,013
1 Ryan, 2 Bruno, 22 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bruno, 6 Stephens, 13 Gross (7 Kayal 73), 24 Propper, 11 Knockaert,
16 Ulloa (25 Locadia 73), 19 Izquierdo (20 March 79).
Prem P37 . W9 D13 L15 . F34 A50 . Pt40 Po14 = 1.08pt/gm . Wins = 24.3%, Loss = 40.5%
* * * * *
Falmer years - 2011 to 2017, no visits.

Noughties last there - Withdean era, no visits.