Phil Foden scored twice as Manchester City leapfrogged Liverpool and kept the Premier League title race in their own hands by thrashing Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 at the Amex Stadium.

Foden moved onto 16 league goals for the season with a first-half brace, his first a free-kick deflected past a wrong-footed Jason Steele before stroking home his second after some reckless play from the Seagulls.

Kevin De Bruyne had earlier given City the lead with what was his 68th Premier League goal but the first with his head, as Pep Guardiola's men made light of Erling Haaland's injury-enforced absence.

Julian Alvarez added a fourth as City - unbeaten in 18 Premier League matches and 30 in all competitions - pulled two points clear of Liverpool and to within one of Arsenal with a match in hand. Five further wins will guarantee they retain their crown.  

Brighton, meanwhile, stay in the bottom half with 44 points, having been surpassed by AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday.

How the match unfolded

Nathan Ake could not keep his shot down when presented with the first half-chance after a low-key start, but City went ahead with a brilliant goal after 17 minutes.

Foden slipped Kyle Walker in on the right flank, and De Bruyne watched the full-back's cross all the way before sending a wonderful diving header into the top-right corner.

There was more fortune about City's second, which arrived just nine minutes later as Foden's free-kick deflected in off Pascal Gross amid Brighton complaints about how he had won the set-piece.

Brighton only had themselves to blame when Foden got his second after 34 minutes, though. Valentin Barco conceded possession cheaply on the edge of his area, and Foden swept the loose ball into the bottom-left corner.

Ederson denied Joao Pedro as Brighton improved in the second half, but City had further daylight just after the hour-mark, Walker breaking in behind and beating Steele to a loose ball, with Alvarez on hand to turn home.

Brighton appealed for a penalty following a clumsy Josko Gvardiol challenge on Pedro, who skewed wide late on as City – who went close to a fifth through substitute Jeremy Doku late on and face struggling Nottingham Forest next – claimed a statement win.

Foden's star still rising

Foden is among the leading candidates to be shortlisted for the EA SPORTS Player of the Season award, and he has gone up a gear in the run-in, also scoring a hat-trick on his last league appearance when City thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 earlier this month.

He was in imperious form again on Thursday, even if Brighton's fans were not happy with the way he went down for the free-kick that ultimately resulted in his first goal.

That strike was Foden's 50th in the Premier League, making him just the third player to score a half century of top-flight goals under Guardiola while aged 23 or younger, after Lionel Messi and Haaland.

It is no wonder Brighton's fans are sick of the sight of the England man; he has eight goals in his last eight Premier League appearances against the Seagulls, more than he has scored against any other club in the competition.

Seagulls' wings clipped

Hampered by injuries to the likes of Pervis Estupinan, Kaoru Mitoma and Evan Ferguson, Brighton have seen their European hopes falter in recent weeks and now appear to be limping to the finishing line.

Roberto De Zerbi's team are winless in their last five Premier League matches (two draws, three defeats) and sit six points adrift of the top seven with matches against Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Chelsea and Manchester United to come.

Brighton have even seen their supply of goals dry up, scoring only four times in eight league matches since thrashing Sheffield United 5-0 in February.

Club reports

Brighton report | Man City report 

Match officials

Referee: Jarred Gillett. Assistants: Darren Cann, Neil Davies. Fourth official: Graham Scott. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Akil Howson.