Manchester City beat Brighton 2-1 on Saturday to return to the Premier League summit and end Liverpool's brief stay at the top after their victory in the Merseyside derby.

But champions City put their recent wobble behind them as they saw off high-flying Brighton thanks to goals from Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland.

- City end mini-slump -

City, who had lost their previous two league games, dominated the first half of their match at the Etihad against Brighton, taking the lead through Alvarez in the seventh minute.

Jeremy Doku was the creator as he reached the byline and pulled back for Alvarez to tuck home his seventh of the season from 12 yards.

Haaland ended his brief goal drought by doubling City's lead 12 minutes later, driving home a fierce left-footed shot from just outside the area.

But it was a different story after the break and Brighton pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute.

Moments after Alvarez failed with an attempt to catch Jason Steele off his line, the ball was quickly sent upfield and, after Kaoru Mitoma's attempted pass was blocked, Ansu Fati tucked home.

City defender Manuel Akanji was sent off in the closing minutes but they held on to win despite late pressure.