By
SABC Sport
1st November 2026
Yasin Ayari netted the only goal of the game at the Emirates after just 11 minutes following an error in defence from City right-back Matheus Nunes.
Last week's 2-1 loss to Aston Villa was also the result of an unforced error, this time as Gianluigi Donnarumma let Nicolas Jackson's long-range strike squeeze under his body.
Reflecting on the game, Maresca admitted that his team probably didn't deserve to win the contest.
"Sometimes it happens. Unfortunately, it is happening for our players, but it is part of football, it happens many times against us, we need to analyse, understand what we can do better and try to move on," he said on BBC Sport.
"We are the second team in terms of scoring in the Premier League, but we are conceding silly goals that we can avoid and hopefully we can avoid in the next game.
"It is a very similar feeling we had after the Aston Villa game - unfortunately we created enough to get some points but we didn't score. At the moment it is like this. We did enough to deserve something. We need to move on and try to win games. For sure we are not happy."
Cith ended the afternoon in first place on the standings, level with second-placed Arsenal, who play Liverpool on Sunday.
Brighton are up to 19 points in third place, with Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler naturally delighted with the result, even more so after their loss to Enzo Maresca's side in the Carabao Cup last time out.
"Every morning you can wake up and decide if you're disappointed by something you cannot change or set the tone," he said.
"Stand up and have the belief that you'll have a different feeling. It was brutal [the cup defeat]. We promised ourselves that we won't have the same feeling.
"We want to be satisfied. We created energy, positivity, the next day. You need this. We saw Saturday as an opportunity to come back stronger. This was the approach and how the players stuck together and built the connection through the four days is really impressive."
