May 27, 2023 — Jan Paul van Hecke and Levi Colwill were the stars of Brighton’s aggressive and brave man-to-man marking counter-press, putting pressure on Manchester City’s midfielders and Erling Haaland.

Right center-back Jan Paul van Hecke in particular was given license to challenge high up the pitch, as the rest of Brighton cut off the easier short passing lanes.

Either one of the center-backs was in charge of putting pressure on the Manchester City midfielder that was furthest forward, while the other marked Erling Haaland.

Jan Paul van Hecke did a particularly good job winning headers up against Erling Haaland.

Here again, Jan Paul van Hecke successfully comes out to challenge and win the ball back.

Manchester City only needed one opening though, and when Brighton’s man-marking wasn’t on point, Manchester City quickly and easily played through them.

Levi Colwill’s positioning meant Erling Haaland could quickly dispatch Jan Paul van Hecke with little resistance. A giant gaping hole down the center of the pitch for Riyad Mahrez to play in Haaland.

After conceding the goal from that one chance, Brighton did get one back. The goal featured a brilliant moment of pausa from Jan Paul van Hecke in the buildup.

22-year-old Jan Paul van Hecke has been getting off-and-on playing time throughout the season, this being only his second full 90-minute match in the Premier League this season.

The combination of lax defensive engagement from Manchester City to stop van Hecke, along with poor positioning from Kyle Walker not to challenge Kaoru Mitoma and the space behind John Stones, led to a chance. Danny Welbeck slotted it home.

An impressive performance from both Jan Paul van Hecke and Levi Colwill against the Premier League champions.