"Manchester City" continues to face difficulties in the current season of the English Premier League, as this is already the third consecutive game in which the team has dropped points, drawing with "Brighton." In this match, held at the "Etihad," the hosts opened the scoring with a penalty converted by Erling Haaland at the end of the first half.
Hoping to return to winning ways after recent draws with "Sunderland" and "Chelsea," "City" could not maintain their advantage. In the second half, Kaoru Mitoma, scoring his first goal since September, equalized, depriving Pep Guardiola's team of the chance to secure three points.
Now the league leader, "Arsenal," has the opportunity to extend their lead to eight points if they defeat "Liverpool" in their next match on Thursday.
At the end of the match, "Manchester City" had chances to snatch a victory, but Haaland and Ryan Cherki failed to convert their opportunities. The start of 2026 has been tough for the Manchester side due to serious squad issues: Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, and John Stones have all sustained injuries.
As a result, Guardiola had to field an inexperienced central defensive pair - 21-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov and debutant Max Allain, who was urgently recalled from his loan at "Watford" just this week.
The match began actively for "Brighton," who made "City" goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma nervous several times. Dangerous moments were created by Pascal Groß and Ferdi Kadıoğlu. "City" did not perform at the required level in the first half, while Khusanov made an important tackle, preventing Georginio Rutter from going one-on-one.
Before the break, there was a controversial moment when Jeremy Doku fell in the penalty area. Referee Thomas Bramall did not award a penalty, for which he was warned by Guardiola, but after consulting VAR, the decision was changed, and Haaland confidently converted the spot kick.
In the second half, "City" could not build on their success, and Mitoma equalized from the edge of the penalty area. Soon after, "Brighton" could have taken the lead, but Diego Gomez missed his chance.
Despite "City's" pressure at the end of the match, including a shot from Haaland that was cleared off the line, and an inaccurate attempt from Cherki, "Brighton" managed to hold on for a draw.
The loss of points increases the pressure on "Manchester City" in the title race amid unstable results and squad issues.
