Man City crush Brighton in Premier League

Nearly 10 years ago, midfielder Steven Gerrard's disastrous slip cost Liverpool the title to Man City. This season, Arsenal and Liverpool have also lost the upper hand to Pep Guardiola's team. And once they have taken control, Guardiola's team has never missed the chance to win the Premier League title in the final stages.

Arsenal fans, and to some extent Liverpool, had hoped Brighton could do something, as Roberto de Zerbi's side had lost just two home games this season, before hosting Man City. Along with the trip to Tottenham, this was Guardiola's second biggest test in the final rounds.

However, Man City's stars shone at the right time, showing the difference in level between the two teams. De Bruyne opened the scoring with a flying header from 13 meters from right-back Kyle Walker's cross. This goal was quite similar to Robin van Persie's header against Spain at the 2014 World Cup.

Nine minutes later, Foden slipped outside the Brighton penalty area, but the referee awarded a free kick to Man City. VAR cannot intervene in such situations, and ironically for the home team, Foden's free kick hit the wall and changed direction to make it 2-0. The England midfielder scored twice eight minutes later, curling a left-footed shot into the far corner after Bernardo Silva cut out Valentin Barco's errant pass in the home area.

Before the match, Guardiola repeatedly complained about Man City's tight schedule, saying he wanted to keep his players "in the fridge" to conserve energy. And despite continuing to miss striker Erling Haaland due to injury, the visitors showed no signs of running out of steam. Meanwhile, Brighton had a difficult time missing eight players, including midfielder Kaoru Mitoma.

Man City took advantage of their opponents' slump to lead 3-0 in the first half. In the second half, goalkeeper Ederson passed the ball long for Walker to break down the right side of the penalty area, before passing it to Julian Alvarez to tap into the empty net to seal a 4-0 victory.

And Man City are also aiming for their fourth consecutive championship. The next challenge for Guardiola's team is host Nottingham Forest in round 35 on April 28.