BRIGHTON: Pep Guardiola said his Manchester City team had ‘forgotten how to play’ after losing 2-1 to Brighton in the Premier League last night.

City dominated the first half and Erling Haaland broke the deadlock in the 88th minute on his 100th Premier League appearance.

However, the Norwegian striker also wasted several opportunities to expand the lead, thus giving Brighton space to rise.

James Milner equalised from the penalty spot in the 67th minute, becoming the second-oldest scorer in league history.

Then, Brajan Gruda scored the winning goal in the 89th minute to hand City their second consecutive league defeat this season.

Asked what changed the game, Guardiola said: “The penalty. We wasted the game. We forgot how to play. We chose to play long passes, that’s fine, but we have to be ready to win the second ball. We weren’t ready for that.

“The momentum in the Premier League always changes after a goal, and that’s exactly what happened. But at that moment we forgot to continue playing like we did brilliantly in the first hour against a difficult opponent,” said Guardiola.

After starting the season with a win over Wolves, City have now lost two in a row, including a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham last week.

It’s a worrying start for Guardiola, after last season City handed over the title for four consecutive years to Liverpool.

They finished the season 13 points behind Liverpool, were knocked out of the Champions League before the last-16 stage, and suffered a shock FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace.

Guardiola had hoped that big spending in the January and summer transfer windows would inject some new energy, but the early returns have been disappointing.

The Spanish manager is trying to emphasise the positives, but the international break will be an uncomfortable period as he tries to sort out the problems of City, who face Manchester United on September 14.

“We conceded one goal and after that we became unstable. Not because I didn’t know how good and strong they (Brighton) were, but because we forgot to keep playing. You can’t stop playing for even a second,” he said.

Brighton looked more venomous after manager Fabian Hurzeler made four changes midway through the second half, including bringing on Milner and Gruda to seal the win.

LIVERPOOL, England: Everton manager David Moyes was delighted with the excellent performance of new signing Jack Grealish after he created two assists in a 2-0 win over Brighton last night, describing the player as acting as if he wanted to prove something.

The 29-year-old joined Everton on loan from Manchester City to revive his stalled international career, having made just seven league starts for City last season.

Grealish was also left out of the England squad for last year’s European Championship.

“I think the player we saw with Manchester City when they won the treble was a pretty exciting guy. I hope he can get back to that level,” Moyes said.

“He’s really enthusiastic. Doesn’t try to run away from a challenge. Doesn’t want to go out after 60 minutes. He wants to prove he’s really good.

Grealish’s two assists this time equalled the total he had produced in his previous 49 league appearances with City, earning him a standing ovation from the fans when he was brought off in the final minutes of the match.

“I told him, ‘be brave against the players, you have the freedom to try, create chances and do things’,” Moyes said.

“I’m really happy with Jack. He did a lot of positive things. I’m not sure if he gave the ball away today, but if he did it was very rare. We were looking for different attacking options with creativity and he gave us something different today.”

Moyes also praised goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who saved Danny Welbeck’s penalty in the 77th minute, after the penalty was awarded for a handball by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

“Jordan probably changed the outcome of the game because at that time we were a bit under pressure,” said Moyes.

“If they score that penalty, it could be a difficult period for us.

“But we shouldn’t be surprised, because he does have the ability to save penalties. Sometimes he makes me dizzy with his passes everywhere. But ultimately, the goalkeeper’s job is to use their hands to save the ball and today he helped us a lot.”

The victory was significant for Everton as it was their first league match at the brand new Dickinson Hill Stadium, exactly 133 years after the old Goodison Park stadium opened.

MANCHESTER, England: Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes insists his team needs to bounce back immediately after their narrow 0-1 defeat to Arsenal in the opening match of the English Premier League (EPL).

The only goal of the match came in the first half when Altay Bayindir, under pressure from William Saliba, headed Declan Rice’s corner straight into the back of the net, before being headed home by Riccardo Calafiori.

United looked energetic up front, especially with the arrival of two new faces Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha who put in convincing performances. However, dullness in front of goal once again haunted The Red Devils.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Fernandes admitted there were many positives, but still highlighted weaknesses that needed to be improved.

“This is the first game of the season, so we can’t say it’s a step forward. We did a lot of good things, but it’s clearly not enough.

“Defensively, we did well. We just created a lot of chances without scoring, which is something we need to improve on.”

United dominated the match with possession and more attempts, something Fernandes also noticed.

“I thought we controlled the game well. We were good with the ball and managed to create some chances, but the main problem today was that we didn’t score.”

The 30-year-old also praised the positive impact of Cunha and Mbeumo’s debuts.

“They both played well. We know what they can contribute, their quality is high and they are a big threat when they have the ball.

“This is just the beginning, I’m sure they will create more chances and contribute more to the team.”

MANCHESTER: The meeting between Manchester United and Arsenal was once considered one of the classic Premier League matches, full of hard-fought action and players willing to sacrifice for three points.

The two clubs often competed for domestic and European championships under the era of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

However, the aura of the meeting has faded over the past few seasons, with the glory days long gone.

United suffered their worst moment last season when they finished 15th in the Premier League, their worst finish since 1974 when they were relegated – partly due to a backheel goal by club legend Denis Law for Manchester City.

However, United manager Ruben Amorim refused to hide behind excuses. He admitted that United needed one or two new players in key positions to turn the club’s fortunes around.

Among the main targets is Viktor Gyokeres, Amorim’s former protégé at Sporting who scored 97 goals in 102 matches and helped the club win the championship.

However, Arsenal, who had been tracking Benjamin Sesko for a long time, finally managed to secure the Swedish striker’s signature.

Interestingly, Sesko joined United after scoring a record 39 goals and eight assists in 87 appearances with RB Leipzig.

The clash between these two venomous strikers tonight has the potential to determine the outcome of the match, and their performance may even shape the fate of both clubs this season.

Sesko himself once revealed his unique routine: “I meditate at least once a day and take planned breaks. I read books on meditation and try new exercises. For me, it’s just as important as training on the field or in the gym.”

Arsenal have finished second in three consecutive seasons, and this season – their 100th consecutive campaign in the English top flight – feels like the perfect moment to win the title.

Mikel Arteta strengthened the squad with Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga.

United also brought in Sesko, Bryan Mbuemo, Matheus Cunha and Diego Leon.

United have not beaten Arsenal at Old Trafford for three years, however, with their last win coming in September 2022 (3-1).

Arsenal have also been a constant problem since then, winning four of their last five league meetings and scoring at least two goals in three of them.

For this match, United goalkeeper Andre Onana is still struggling with a pre-season injury and may be replaced by Altay Bayindir.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are still without Gabriel Jesus, who has been out injured since the 2022 incident at Old Trafford.

History may give United a slight advantage.

The only opening-day league meeting between the two sides at Old Trafford in the 1989-90 season ended in a resounding 4-1 victory for United.

However, Arsenal come in with an excellent record of being unbeaten in their last 14 away league games (seven wins, seven draws), and have won five of their opening six games of the season, including the last three.

United still have the record for most wins on the opening day of a season (22) and the highest win rate (67%).

In fact, if they win tonight, they will become the first club in English football history to beat Arsenal 100 times.

Furthermore, success at Old Trafford could give them two wins in a row after beating Aston Villa on the final day of last season – something they failed to achieve throughout the 2024-25 season under Erik ten Hag and Amorim.

LONDON: Chelsea players will donate part of their Club World Cup winning bonus to the family of the late Diogo Jota, who died at the age of 28 last month.

However, a commendable act can be witnessed after the Blues stars chose to give up part of their bonuses to raise funds for Jota’s widow after the Liverpool player died in a tragic road accident with his brother, Andre Silva, and left behind three children.

Chelsea players and management made a joint decision to forgo part of their bonuses.

However, it is not yet clear what percentage of the bonus will be donated to Jota’s family.

However, the total bonus amount will be reduced by tax and social security deductions before the sincere contribution to Jota’s family is made.