Sussex

Brighton captain Lewis Dunk praised "the intensity, fight, togetherness and belief" of the team as the Seagulls picked up their first win over Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday.

"It's huge," Dunk told BBC Radio Sussex. "It's a tough place to come.

"It won't go down as one of our prettiest games of football, but we dug in and fought hard.

"We scored a goal and then defended like animals right to the end."

Hit play above to listen to Dunk's full interview or find it here on BBC Sounds.

Albion goalscorer Yasin Ayari added: "Amazing team performance because to come here and win is not easy.

"We suffered, but we were resilient and in the end we leave with three points.

"It's always nice to score goals because I like to help my team win football matches.

Hear more from Ayari below or on BBC Sounds here.

John Bennett
Final Score reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The biggest compliment you can pay to Brighton is that results like Saturday's historic win over Manchester City are no longer a surprise.

Yes, it was their first victory at Etihad Stadium but this was no huge shock, no smash and grab, no big upset.

Before the game it didn't take a lot of imagination to see this coming; the Premier League's top scorers against a City side struggling to keep clean sheets.

You knew Brighton were going to find the back of the net, it was just whether they had enough resilience and solidity to keep things tight at the other end. After all, they were facing opponents who had scored in each of their last 24 Premier League games.

The answer was a resounding yes. Of course there were nervy moments in a second half dominated by the home team, and keeper Bart Verbruggen made a world-class save to push an Iliman Ndiaye shot on to the woodwork but Brighton worked tirelessly for their clean sheet and deserved the three points.

So it's no surprise that they're beating the likes of City and Arsenal, which means it surely wouldn't be a big shock if they managed to stay in a title race long term?

Maybe their congested schedule is the one thing that could hold them back? Indeed, Verbruggen mentioned that post-match, saying: "We'll see what happens because we have loads of games."

But when you look at their bench on Saturday, with the quality of Georginio Rutter, Malick Yalcouye, Jack Hinshelwood and Yankuba Minteh, you can see the strength of the squad and their ability to rotate in the Thursday European games.

Title race or not though, this Brighton now have the belief they can go anywhere, against any team, at any time and come away with victories.

With their biggest points tally after nine games of a top-flight campaign, this is already a season to remember.

Real Madrid are monitoring Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen as a future replacement for Thibaut Courtois. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton had never won at Manchester City in 16 previous league visits but they ended that run through an early goal and stout defending.

Yasin Ayari made amends for his penalty miss in the shootout by converting at the same end for his third league goal of an eye-catching campaign.

Fabian Hurzeler's side have been the most entertaining Premier League side in terms of goals scored this season and their 24 strikes is unmatched by any other top-flight team.

They are a very well-drilled side, with relentless pressing and the reward for their supporters to make the second long trip up from the south coast in the space of three days was a thoroughly deserved three points.

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Really happy for everyone involved. A long journey, everyone contributed to the win. Really happy who the did the work in the shadows and we showed another good performance on the pitch. Togetherness gives us the rewards. On Wednesday we missed the luck, today we had a bit of luck but you have to deserve the luck and everyone worked hard for today.

"It was a completely defensive performance where everyone had the mindset 'I need to defend'. We would have preferred to have more of the ball but in certain moments you know when you come here you need to suffer and defend well in the box. We can talk about individual players but in the end everyone had a defensive mindset and stuck together."

On belief in squad and Bart Verbruggen providing stability: "Football is a lot about belief. You need to have players who spread that belief and Bart is a prime example of that. But they all have this belief that are capable of coming here and competing and winning these games. It's important to have this mindset and to spread it around the environment we work in and belief is key to winning these types of games.

"Coming here to [Manchester] City against one of the best teams in the league is always special. You have to be brilliant at the basics and everyone was contributing, from Tuesday when we travelled and we wanted to have a good four days and enjoy it and finish strong. Everyone can enjoy this win today."

Did you know?

• Brighton have beaten Manchester City away from home in any competition for the very first time, at the 18th attempt (drawn five, lost 12).

• Brighton have kept a clean sheet in six of their nine games - more than any other in the Premier League this season.

• Maxim De Cuyper already has as many goal involvements in the Premier League this season (five - two goals, three assists) as in his first season in the competition in 2025-26 in 30 games (five - two goals, three assists).