Man City hammer Brighton 4-1 on Foden brace

Sports Desk, Oct 23 (EFE).- England international Phil Foden scored twice Saturday to lead defending Premier League champions Manchester City to a 4-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.

The result lifted City to second place on 20 points, 2 points fewer than Chelsea and 2 more than Liverpool pending the Reds’ showdown on Sunday with Manchester United.

Brighton are fourth with 15 points, the same as Tottenham Hotspur, who trail the South Coast side on goal difference but have a game in hand.

The Seagulls, who came into the contest at Brighton’s Amex Stadium having conceded just five goals in their first eight league matches, went behind in the 13th minute.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez failed to secure the ball after stopping a shot by Foden and Bernardo Silva relayed it to the onrushing Ilkay Gündogan for the easy goal.

An error by the hosts also contributed to the second City goal.

Marc Cucurella’s giveaway in midfield opened the door for Foden to make it 2-0 in the 28th minute with an assist from Jack Grealish.

The 3-0 materialized just three minutes later and though it was Gabriel Jesus who started the ball on its course to the Brighton net, Foden was credited with the goal because the Brazilian’s shot took a deflection off him to beat Sanchez.

The Seagulls were much improved in the second half and got a chance to narrow the deficit with 10 minutes left after City keeper Ederson fouled Enock Mwepu and the referee pointed to the spot.

City protested, but the penalty was upheld by VAR and Alexis Mac Allister converted with authority.

Pep Guardiola’s men buckled down to see out the match, with Riyad Mahrez adding a fourth goal in stoppage time.

Saturday’s Premier League action began in London, where English midfielder Mason Mount had a hat trick as Chelsea routed an abysmal Norwich City 7-0.

Mount opened the scoring in the 8th minute.

With Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner injured, Chelsea’s midfield and attacking wing-backs stepped up and winger Callum Hudson-Odoi netted the second goal just 10 minutes later.

Reece James made it 3-0 just before the break and Ben Chilwell got his name on the score sheet in the second half.

An own goal by Max Aarons put the game well out of reach for the Canaries, who went down to 10 men with a red card against Ben Gibson, and Mount came back to complete his hat trick with a penalty and a last minute goal to seal the 3 points emphatically.

Norwich City languish in last place. EFE jt/dr