Premier League 2018/19 Tactical Analysis: Brighton vs Manchester City

In the last round of the English Premier League Brighton welcomed Manchester City for the match that was decisive in the battle for the trophy. The away team needed a win to secure their spot at the top of the table and to go back to back in winning the prestigious title.

Pep Guardiola’s team fully dominated the game and showed how far they got during the Spaniard’s time at the club marking their second Premier League win in his three years at the wheel. The Seagulls tried to spoil the celebration for the Citizens, but they weren’t at the level their opponents were.

This tactical analysis will show you how Man City got the win that meant championship for them, and how they did it in the way they used to do it throughout the whole season.

Lineups

Brighton started the game with their usual 4-5-1 formation with their strongest side, even though this match didn’t have importance for them in terms of the result. They focused themselves on counter-attacking, relying on Anthony Knockaert and Alireza Jahanbakhsh as their main forces down the flanks, and Glenn Murray on top of the squad.

Guardiola set his team in his favourite 4-3-3 formation but with a lot of transformations during the game. They went into the match with just two truly central midfielders that were David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, and three more offensive players in Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez who were constantly rotating and providing support to the lonely striker Sergio Aguero.