MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION 0-4 MANCHESTER CITY

Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk

Manchester City were dominant as they blew Brighton and Hove Albion away with a sparkling first half performance, thanks largely to inputs from Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden.

The two were granted plenty of creative freedom to exploit the space left by Brighton's expansive system to effectively seal the game before the half time whistle was blown.

City looked sharp and dangerous from the off, playing through Brighton's aggressive man to man press and getting the ball into dangerous areas.

But City's goal was still somewhat unexpected, but only because of it's source. Kyle Walker's cross from the right hand side was met by a flying diving header from De Bruyne, for his sixth of the season in his injury hit campaign and his first headed goal in the Premier League.

A second goal a few minutes later was exactly what City deserved, but it came in very fortunate circumstances.

Foden slipped after a positive drive, which was wrongly adjudged to be a foul by the referee. The 23 year old then saw his freekick deflect off a defender and wrong foot Jason Steele to double City's lead.

To give credit to them, this didn't discourage Brighton from playing their bold brand of football, but it did cost them a third goal, as Bernardo Silva robbed the ball high up the pitch for Foden to slide into the back of the net from the loose ball.

The job was finished in the second half for the Blues in more route one fashion, as a long ball forward from Ederson found Walker, who was eventually able to prod the ball to Julian Alvarez to score his first goal in the Premier League since the end of January.

In the closing stages of the game, Pep Guardiola decided it was "Sergio Gomez time", as he opted to bring the young Spanish defender on at the end of the game, as he often does when City are comfortably ahead.

Jeremy Doku, Jack Grealish, Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes also saw minutes on the pitch to give rest to Rodri, Bernardo, De Bruyne, Walker and Foden ahead of City's upcoming crucial schedule in the Premier League.

With five games left to go, City know that five wins will secure them four Premier League titles in a row, regardless of Arsenal and Liverpool's results.

Jurgen Klopp's side are now more or less out of the title race, barring a late collapse from City or Arsenal, as they trail the Gunners by two points and City by a point with a game in hand for the Blues.

Arsenal also have two tough away fixtures coming up against Big 6 sides, with the first, against fierce local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, coming up this weekend, which will be a premium opportunity for City to pull clear in the title race.

Here are the player ratings for City's convincing victory on the Southern Coast:

Ederson - 7/10 - Not very involved in the game, other than making a few routine saves and an excellent long ball from towards Walker in the build up for City's fourth goal.

Walker - 7.5/10 - Started both halves poorly, giving the ball away under pressure a few times, but grew much better as each half progressed, and contributed offensively with two assists.

Akanji - 7.5/10 - Solid as per usual with his passing and defensive work, to continue his stellar season for City so far.

Ake - 7.5/10 - City's Mr Consistent performed well again at the centre of defence, keeping close tabs on Danny Welbeck and passing out well from the back of Brighton's high press.

Gvardiol - 7/10 - Offered a lot both offensively and defensively for City on the left hand side, with good passing and defensive work.

Rodri - 7.5/10 - A bit quieter than usual in terms of number of touches, but he hardly misplaced a pass all game, which was particularly crucial in evading Brighton's press.

Kovacic - 8/10 - Wriggled in and out of tight spaces all night, in an excellent performance from the Croatian, who contributed hugely to City's game in progressing the ball through the lines from midfield to attack.

Bernardo - 7.5/10 - Was involved in the third goal with his excellent aggressive high pressing, and played a very specific role (seemingly a right wing/defensive midfield hybrid) very well.

Foden - 9.5/10 - Performed very well once again at one of his favourite hunting grounds in the Amex Stadium. He glided around the pitch, flicking the ball around the corners and exploiting space brilliantly, and took his goals really well to show his improvement in finishing ever since his miss in the UEFA Champions League final.

De Bruyne - 9/10 - Like Foden, De Bruyne excelled in the attacking pockets, and looked a real threat, particularly in the first half. Just when you thought you'd seen it all from De Bruyne, he showed one more trick up his sleeve with a Robin van Persie 2014 World Cup esque diving header to open the scoring for the Blues.

Alvarez - 7/10 - In Erling Haaland's absence, it was good to see Alvarez chip in with a goal to end his drought, as well as putting in a good overall performance on and off the ball.

Substitutes:

Grealish - 6/10 - A more or less decent cameo from Grealish, other than a bit more soppiness than we're expected of seeing from the Englishman.

Nunes - 6.5/10 - A few nice touches off the bench, especially when carrying the ball forward at pace.

Doku - 6/10 - Gave the ball away numerous times in central areas, but it barely mattered, as City were comfortably ahead at the time.

Lewis - 6.5/10 - Other than a dangerous break down the left hand side, Brighton didn't attack much after Lewis came on the pitch, meaning he had little work to do in his fifteen minutes on the pitch.

Gomez - 6.5/10 - Playing centrally, Gomez kept the ball well and was patient and precise with his passing.