THE NOTEBOOK: Pep Guardiola can have Bruno Guimaraes for £100m, ‘Hardest Geezer’ Russ Cook is no celebrity fan and Man City’s social media post backfires

Phil Foden struck twice as Manchester City stepped up their bid for a fourth Premier League crown in a row with a ruthless 4-0 victory at Brighton on Thursday.

Kevin De Bruyne‘s superb diving header put City, missing top scorer Erling Haaland due to injury, ahead in the 17th minute.

Foden scored his first — and 50th league goal — with a deflected free kick and Brighton defensive errors allowed Bernardo Silva to win the ball and set up Foden to sweep a shot into the bottom corner before halftime.

Julian Alvarez completed the rout midway through the second half and Brighton, who remained 11th in the table, never looked capable of launching a fightback.

Mail Sport’s Kieran Gill takes a look at some of things you may have missed. 

De Bruyne makes his mark

Brighton’s tactics were clear from the off as they went man-to-man without the ball. Lewis Dunk was deserting the defensive line to follow Phil Foden. 

Jan Paul van Hecke was tracking Julian Alvarez. Wherever Kevin De Bruyne went, so too did Jakub Moder. 

Yet the one time he did leave his side, De Bruyne dispatched a delicious diving header from Kyle Walker’s cross to open the floodgates. 

Typical. It was even the Belgian’s first-ever headed goal in the Premier League. It was a signature moment from a side who forever find a way to step up when the pressure is on. Five wins to go for the title. 

Blues left red-faced

City jumped on the latest social media trend when they posted a picture of their player, Yui Hasegawa (above), alongside the caption: ‘Look between T and O on your keyboard.’ 

It backfired as City were bombarded by replies telling them to ‘look between 114 and 116’. 

Ref angers fans 

Roberto De ZerBI previously said he does not like ‘80 per cent’ of the Premier League’s referees. 

Brighton’s fans recalled those words when Foden won a free-kick after falling to the floor 20 yards out — never a foul — before making it 2-0.

‘De Zerbi’s right, the refs are s****,’ they sang at ref Jarred Gillett. 

Pass master Dunk

This match boasted the league’s two top passers of the ball. Leading the way is Rodri, that crucial cog in the City machine. 

Second is Lewis Dunk, passing his way out from the back. 

Dunk was making his 400th league start for Brighton here, having made his debut as an 18-year-old nipper back in 2010. 

Man City are keeping an eye on Bruno Guimaraes’ situation at Newcastle ahead of the summer

Guimaraes has £100m price tag

News emerged last night that Bruno Guimaraes holds a £100million release clause valid between the last weeks of May and June. 

That gives suitors a month to swoop, before Newcastle take control of the asking price. This coincided with my colleague, Jack Gaughan, reporting City admire Guimaraes’s ability to feature either as a deep-lying midfielder or further up. 

Plus, he does not have an FA investigation hanging over him like West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta. One to watch. Guimaraes, that is. Not Gaughan. 

Russ Cook — AKA Hardest Geezer — received a standing ovation at the Amex Stadium

‘Hardest Geezer’ is no celebrity fan

There was running royalty in the press room. 

Russ Cook — AKA Hardest Geezer — is a Brighton fan who recently became the first person to run the length of Africa. Taking almost a year to finish, he’s raised more than £1million for charity. 

He earned a standing ovation from the supporters. Very nice guy who scoffs at the idea he is now a celebrity.