Manchester City put their recent away day blues to bed with a resounding 5-0 win over Brighton at the Amex this evening.
Pep Guardiola’s side dominated proceedings from the get-go, and it was no surprise when they took the lead in the 20th minute, England attacker Raheem Sterling curling a low effort from just outside the box into the bottom corner for his 25th of the season in all competitions.
The lively Gabriel Jesus would double City’s lead on the stroke of half-time, the Brazilian striker tapping home a close-range effort after a flicked near-post header from midfielder Rodri.
Sterling notched a career-best 26th of the season just after the break with a rare header from a perfectly weighted Riyad Mahrez cross.
Bernardo Silva then got in on the act on 56 minutes, slotting home after a goalkeeping error from Matt Ryan.
Sterling sealed his hat-trick with 10 minutes remaining with one of the most bizarre goals he’ll ever score, the ball inadvertently skimming off the top of his head and sneaking into the goal after he fell over in the six-yard box.
Speaking afterwards, City boss Guardiola was delighted his side were able to bounce back from a shock defeat in their last away fixture against Southampton.
“I was pleased with everything tonight – the result and the levels we reached. We are now at a good level and are ready to play the last games of the Premier League and in the Champions League,” Guardiola told Sky Sports.
“We’ve forgotten the Southampton result (1-0 defeat last Sunday) as we played incredibly well there. Football sometimes is strange. We just didn’t score there. We’re a team who create a lot of chances and today we converted them.”
Guardiola also paid tribute to hat-trick hero Sterling, revealing that the 25-year-old’s rapid improvement in recent seasons has been down to hard work on the training pitch.
“For a long time, he has been getting better. His finishing, his shooting and that’s because he trains hard. It’s good for us to have him at the end of the season.”
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