Manchester City are currently only two points behind Liverpool in the Premier League standings, but that does not mean Manchester City are a bad team because Manchester City still have time to reclaim the first position from Liverpool this season. And in today's away game I also have no doubt that Manchester City can beat Brighton, because if the result of the match is a draw, of course Manchester City will be even further behind Liverpool if Liverpool can win again at home in today's match by hosting Aston Villa.
I believe 2 points is nothing, specially for a team like City who does play for long term. I mean they just had their first ever three in a row loss since 2018, that means it has been 6 years since they had a 3 in a row loss, more than six years even. I would venture they already maxed out on their losses for a while, and they are going to end up winning most of their games from here on out.
This means, Liverpool will eventually lose a game, or even get a few ties, and City will be ahead one again. That is what happens most of the time, City doesn't start out amazingly to the season, but then gradually they become better and better, which causes them to have a much better result, and much better deal without a doubt. I am guessing we are going to end up with something similar here as well, things will not be all that complicated and City will do the same thing that they did for a long time.