Manchester City’s hopes of defending their Premier League crown took a serious hit on Wednesday night as Brighton held them to a 1–1 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
City went in front in the first half when Erling Haaland converted a penalty, bringing up his 150th goal for the club. However, the milestone strike failed to deliver the win Pep Guardiola’s side desperately needed. Plagued by injuries and lacking their usual sharpness, City were punished after the break when Kaoru Mitoma scored the equaliser.
The result leaves Manchester City five points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, who still have a game in hand against Liverpool on Thursday. Should Arsenal take all three points, the gap at the top would stretch to eight, a daunting margin at this stage of the season.
City have overturned similar deficits during Guardiola’s reign, but recent performances suggest they may struggle to do so again. Draws against Sunderland, Chelsea, and now Brighton mean City are winless in three matches, while Arsenal arrive on a three game winning run.
Even Haaland’s landmark goal, his 26th in all competitions this season and his first in four games, could not lift a below par City display. The striker missed several chances and looked short of his usual ruthlessness.
City’s problems have been compounded by injuries. Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias joined John Stones on the sidelines after picking up knocks at the weekend. Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Oscar Bobb and Mateo Kovacic were also unavailable due to fitness concerns and international commitments.
A disjointed display
City have been linked with moves for Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth and Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace, but with reinforcements yet to arrive, Guardiola was forced to improvise. Teenager Max Alleyne was handed his debut, partnering Abdukodir Khusanov in a makeshift central defence.
Brighton looked dangerous from the outset. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma nearly gifted the visitors an early goal before making a sharp save to deny Pascal Gross. Ferdi Kadioglu also went close soon after.
Despite struggling, City struck first late in the opening half. Jeremy Doku was brought down by Diego Gomez, and after VAR intervened, Haaland stepped up to score from the spot. Tijjani Reijnders almost doubled the lead just before the interval, but Gomez cleared his effort off the line.
City missed further chances after the restart. Bernardo Silva struck the outside of the post, a moment that proved costly. On the hour mark, Brighton drew level when Mitoma picked up the ball outside the box, was given too much space by Nico Gonzalez, and drilled a low shot past Donnarumma.
Guardiola reacted by introducing Rodri, but City continued to look vulnerable. Gomez missed a golden chance to put Brighton ahead, while at the other end Haaland saw a header cleared off the line by Kadioglu and then failed to beat Bart Verbruggen from close range.
City’s frustrations deepened in the closing stages as Rayan Cherki squandered two late opportunities, summing up a night where wastefulness and defensive frailty combined to leave their title ambitions hanging by a thread.
