Brighton defeat due to lack of aggression - Guardiola

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lamented his team's poor second-half performance following their 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the third round of the English Premier League.

"We conceded the goal, and then the momentum shifted. Until then, it was really, really good; we had chances, and the team looked aggressive and dynamic," Guardiola said after the match.

City led at halftime thanks to an Erling Haaland goal in his 100th Premier League appearance and appeared to be in control for 60 minutes until a James Milner penalty levelled the score for the hosts. As Brighton's intensity grew, City struggled to cope and conceded again, this time to Bryan Gruda.

"We played a good hour, but the last 30 minutes were not good. We forgot to pass the ball; we just played long balls and weren't aggressive enough. That's the situation," Guardiola added.

Guardiola kept midfielder Rodrigo Hernández, Rodri on the pitch for the full 90 minutes but admitted that the changes made to his squad between last season and this one have led to a period of adaptation for the players.

"We have a really good squad, and of course, we've changed many things from the past until now, which is normal. We need the new players to adapt, and the more experienced ones to help them cope. Rodri had a really good performance; he's a great character. I'm glad he played 90 minutes," Guardiola added.

This is the second consecutive loss for the Citizens, following their 0-2 defeat to Tottenham in the previous round. However, this is unlikely to dampen the title ambitions of the Sky Blues, who have been crowned champions six times in the last ten years.

"The season has just begun. We have a long, long season ahead. We'll see what happens," Guardiola concluded.

After the international break, Manchester City faces a very tough schedule, first taking on city rivals Manchester United before travelling to the capital for a visit to Arsenal.