Manchester City's Erling Haaland shoots in front pf Brighton's Luka Vuskovic during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo)Manchester City’s hold over the top of the Premier League standings is precarious after they lost 1-0 to Brighton at home. The team are still in top spot, but defending champions Arsenal have a game in hand.This was Manchester City’s second straight league loss after opening the campaign with seven wins in a row.“Obviously, we conceded a goal which was tough to take,” Manchester City’s Elliot Anderson told City TV after the game. “We had so many chances and on another day, we put those away and probably win the game so it’s unlucky to be honest. It’s always difficult when you concede early; it’s not what you want at home. And we just didn’t manage to get that first goal and [we created] so many chances. It wasn’t for a lack of fight and commitment. We gave everything. We were on top for large periods of the game and it looked very promising to get a goal but it just didn’t come.”The game also saw striker Erling Haaland’s streak of scoring in seven league games end. He was four games away from Leicester great Jamie Vardy’s record of netting in consecutive matches.Yasin Ayari, one of the Brighton players to miss the team’s shootout loss, made amends with an 11th-minute winner at Etihad Stadium.With City also losing at Aston Villa 2-1 last weekend, Arsenal — which is tied on points in second place — can move into first with a win or a draw at Liverpool on Sunday.ALSO READ | Carrick’s Manchester United lurch one point above relegation zone after Chelsea lossStory continues below this ad“We were aware that we weren’t going to win all the games,” City manager Enzo Maresca said. He was the first ever manager to win his first seven Premier League games in charge of a club. “So this kind of moment has arrived … we need to move on and win games as soon as possible.”City’s future continues to be shrouded in doubt after the club was found guilty of large-scale financial rule-breaking in an explosive verdict last month. City is awaiting a sanction, having also lodged an appeal.Brighton, one of the league’s surprise packages this season, moved into third place — two points off the lead.