Super subs Milner and Gruda ignite Brighton’s late comeback to floor Manchester City

Brighton and Hove Albion turned a flat first hour into a roaring late victory, beating Manchester City 2-1 thanks to James Milner’s nerve from the spot and Brajan Gruda’s 89th‑minute winner. Trailing to Erling Haaland’s first‑half strike, the Seagulls found belief through Fabian Hurzeler’s bold quadruple change and surged to their first league win of the season.

The transformation was as swift as it was emphatic. Once Milner levelled after Matheus Nunes handled Lewis Dunk’s cross, Brighton kept pressing a City side that had no answer to the waves of runs in behind. James Trafford’s brave saves denied Yankuba Minteh and Jan Paul van Hecke, but when Kaoru Mitoma threaded Gruda clear, the German rounded Trafford and left Rayan Aït-Nouri behind to tuck in the decisive goal.

Hurzeler’s hour‑mark jolt injects belief

For 60 minutes Brighton struggled to string moves together, managing only one first‑half shot. Hurzeler then played his hand: Gruda, Milner, Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari stepped off the bench and immediately raised the tempo, the pressing and the precision. Moments later Mitoma fed Minteh for a near‑equaliser, a warning that City’s grip had loosened.

The momentum swing was unmistakable. Brighton’s runners repeatedly found space behind City’s back line, and the visitors looked increasingly uncomfortable. Hurzeler later summed it up simply: football can be about energy, and his team found it in abundance after the changes.

Milner’s moment: experience meets nerve

When Dunk’s cross struck Nunes’ arm, the Amex belief crystallised. Milner, 39 years and 239 days old, became the Premier League’s second‑oldest scorer — behind Teddy Sheringham — by slamming home the 67th‑minute penalty. It was the kind of high‑pressure moment for which his career has long been a byword.

The goal was also significant personally: Milner’s first for Brighton and his first league strike since Boxing Day 2019, when he converted a penalty in Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Leicester. The veteran’s composure steadied the hosts and set the stage for a winner that the performance increasingly demanded.

Gruda’s composure seals a night to savor

City’s goalkeeper had just kept Brighton at bay with a superb clawed save from Van Hecke’s deflected effort when another turnover sprang the hosts forward. Mitoma, as so often, chose clarity over chaos, sliding Gruda through. The 21‑year‑old skipped past Aït‑Nouri and rounded Trafford to pass in the winner with the calm of a seasoned finisher.

Signed from Mainz last year, Gruda now has three goals for the club and one that will be remembered for its timing as much as its technique. It validated Hurzeler’s brave reshuffle and underlined how Brighton’s depth — and youth off the bench — can reshape games against elite opponents.

Platform to build on

This was not perfect — the first half was ragged, and Bart Verbruggen had to repel Haaland’s header before the Norwegian finally nudged City ahead on 34 minutes after an Omar Marmoush pass. But the second‑half surge, the aggression, and the composure at critical moments hinted at a Brighton whose performances are starting to translate into points.

The rewards are immediate: a first win, four points from three, and a blueprint for the weeks ahead. Next up is a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday (15:00 BST). On this evidence, Brighton carry momentum — and belief — into the international break.