Brighton 1-4 Manchester City: 5 Talking Points
Goals from Sergio Aguero, Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan ensured Manchester City beat Brighton 4-1 away from home on Sunday and retained the Premier League trophy after an eventful title race which went right down to the wire this season.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool were 2-0 winners over Wolves in another Sunday afternoon fixture, but needed the Citizens to drop points if they were to win the league for the first time since 1989/90.
Despite Glenn Murray's headed opener after 17 minutes, Pep Guardiola's men responded instantly and had a 2-1 lead going into the break at the Amex. Brighton, who were already mathematically safe from relegation before kick-off, had nothing to lose but were eager for a result in front of their adoring home support.
Aguero equalised a minute after Murray's effort before Laporte scored with a header - angled into the bottom corner after being left unmarked and lurking in the box. An individual effort by Mahrez and an excellent free-kick strike by Gundogan in the second-half proved too much for the Seagulls to handle. Without further ado, here's a look at five talking points from an eventful afternoon on the south Coast:
#5 Murray's opener stuns City into inspired response
City were nervy, hesitant and far from their usual rampant selves in the early exchanges - not exactly what you'd expect the league leaders to look like, but nonetheless what we've seen more often in recent weeks.
With the scores goalless, away from home against a Brighton side with nothing to lose, there's always danger in the midst of success: potentially taking the game too casually, already believing it's been won and making needless mistakes.
To their credit, a minute after Murray headed home from Pascal Gross' corner, they responded perfectly with a goal of their own. The joyous home crowd had been effectively silenced and although Guardiola was animated on the touchline, their situation had drastically changed. The longer their wait for a goal had continued, the pressure would have only continued to mount.
Bernardo Silva came close on a few occasions beforehand, so it wasn't as though they were not creating chances - but in closely-contested games like these, moments at specific times can often set the tone. Aguero's equaliser was their sign.
It showed their determination to win and unsurprisingly so, because they were already aware before kick-off that fate was in their own hands. Win and the title was theirs. Anything less would be catastrophic, regardless of the venue.
Elsewhere in the top-flight, you could sense City's swift response having a damaging impact on Liverpool. Their supporters allowed themselves to believe, if only for a moment that this would be their year after Sadio Mane broke the deadlock at Anfield. Instead news had filtered in and undoubtedly had a disheartening effect on the atmosphere on Merseyside, as they were helpless.