Rodri was back for Manchester City but the result and the performance were worryingly familiar
Manchester City have work to do after a second successive defeat opened old wounds for Pep Guardiola's side, with the manner of their loss at Brighton worryingly familiar.
[City](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/manchester-city-fc) led through Erling Haaland's first-half goal and looked to be in control of the contest, but Brighton upped the tempo midway through the second half and the Blues folded under the pressure.
Matheus Nunes gave away a penalty with a needless handball, which James Milner converted to bring the scores level. The Seagulls looked the far likelier winners, and they capitalised on some woeful defending to do just that, with Brajan Gruda rounding James Trafford to score in the 89th minute.
**Rodri can't change things**
It was a surprise to see Rodri fit enough to start on the south coast, with Guardiola even intimating on Friday that he would only get a few minutes before heading off on international duty with Spain.
But Rodri's inclusion gave the Premier League its first proper glimpse of a midfield partnership that could become a real strength for City this season, with Tijjani Reijnders fielded alongside the Ballon d'Or winner.
It gave City a strong midfield base, with Rodri sitting deep and Reijnders and Bernardo Silva as No.8s and during spells in the first half, it laid a solid platform.
That vanished as the game progressed. Bernardo was the only one of the trio to be withdrawn, despite Rodri making his first Premier League start for 11 months and Reijnders getting worse as the game progressed. His regression since his Premier League debut at Wolves is a concern and once again, City's soft underbelly was cut open in this game.
The worry will be that it happened with Rodri in the team. This might not be the Ballon d'Or winner at his best, but he was still powerless to Brighton's wave of attacks from midway through the second half.
During last season's worrying slump, it was always the hope that Rodri would return and things would get back to normal. They might still do with time, but this was an eye-opening reminder that there is no guarantee that will be the case.
**O'Reilly's status**
Nico O'Reilly has now come on in his preferred midfield role in two of City's opening three Premier League fixtures of the season, but his introduction against Brighton was far more telling than coming on during the rout against Wolves.
The 20-year-old came on for captain Bernardo with 18 minutes to play and the game was delicately poised at 1-1. Guardiola had other cards to use if he wanted to reshuffle his midfield and could have used Nico Gonzalez, but the decision to throw youth into action in the middle of the pitch is an encouraging sign for O'Reilly this season.
**Coaching clashes**
There was some aggravation between these two sides last season and it carried on in the early stages of this fixture. Some on the Brighton bench were unhappy with Reijnders when he caught Diego Gomez early on. It was a nasty incident, but Reijnders was simply planting his foot after playing a pass and there was no intent to land on the midfielder's ankle.
When Jan Paul van Hecke flew into a tackle on Omar Marmoush a few minutes later it promoted complaints from the City bench and Guardiola immediately turned to Fabian Hurzeler's assistant, Jonas Scheuermann, and made a talking gesture with his hands. Kolo Toure, always a bundle of energy on the bench, also shot to his feet and had to be ushered away by Guardiola.
The clash showed the fire that still exists within the City boss and he was a very vocal presence in the technical area, constantly pulling players across for little chats as he looks to get his ideas across to what is a new-look team.
**Don't anger Erling**
When Haaland raced clear of the Brighton defence and on to Marmoush's through ball inside the opening quarter, you expected the net to bulge. At the very least, you expected Bart Verbruggen to be forced into an excellent save.
What followed was very unusual for the Norwegian. Haaland never really got the ball out of his feet and with defenders closing in, he took the shot when he wasn't settled and could only scuff a slow, bobbly effort straight at Verbruggen. The Amex loved it.
But the problem with getting on Haaland's back, especially so early in the game, is that it can come back to haunt you. Haaland had several more first-half chances and eventually poked a simple finish past Verbruggen after good work from Omar Marmoush.
**Transfer surprises**
The exit door at the Etihad could be busy on Monday, but this game and Guardiola's squad's injury absences complicated the transfer activity.
Ederson was on the bench again despite interest from Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, while Manuel Akanji and Ilkay Gundogan were both back in the matchday squad. They were left out last week, in a clear indicator that their futures were away from City.
All three could still leave on deadline day, but their presence on the south coast clearly complicated matters on the eve of the transfer window closing. The same is true for Stefan Ortega, who has been primed for an exit since the end of July when James Trafford returned, but is still at the club and acted as third-choice goalkeeper at the Amex, with Marcus Bettinelli still unavailable.