Brighton star who rattled Guardiola sends warning to Man City

Brighton aim to secure a season double over Manchester City this Saturday at the Etihad.

Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke played a crucial role when the Seagulls secured a 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Amex Stadium last November.

City took the lead through Erling Haaland, but Brighton responded in the second half with goals from Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley to claim all three points. Van Hecke had a physical battle with Haaland throughout the match, which led to a late-game clash between the two. The incident saw Van Hecke go to ground, angering City manager Pep Guardiola, who confronted the Brighton defender after the final whistle.

The Dutch international was surprised by the confrontation but later downplayed the exchange, emphasizing his respect for Guardiola. “He just asked me what happened in the box and I explained,” Van Hecke said at the time. “He is a great manager. You see the way his team played at the end of last season, we lost 4-0 and I felt like the whole game I was in a rondo. I only have a lot of respect for him.”

Although Guardiola believed Van Hecke went down too easily, he still praised the defender’s performance in his post-match press conference.

Now, Brighton and Van Hecke are aiming to complete the double over City when they meet at the Etihad Stadium this Saturday. A win would be a massive boost for seventh-placed Brighton in their push for Champions League qualification.

Van Hecke heads into the clash full of confidence after scoring his first goal for Brighton in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Fulham. The victory marked Brighton’s sixth straight win across all competitions, a strong response to their heavy 7-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest last month.

The 24-year-old insists that Brighton have the quality to compete with any team in the league. “We can beat anyone,” he said. “If you look around at a player like me and your teammates, you see people who really want to win and fight. We are really hard to beat, and we can challenge almost anyone in the league, but we need to keep going.”