Manchester City’s Premier League title defence stalled on Wednesday night as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium. The result marks City's third consecutive draw, leaving them in second place with 43 points, five behind leaders Arsenal.
Erling Haaland scored his 150th goal for the club from the penalty spot in the 41st minute after Jeremy Doku was fouled by Diego Gomez, but the hosts were unable to secure the win. Arsenal now has the opportunity to move eight points clear at the top when they host Liverpool on Thursday.
The match was marked by missed opportunities for both sides and a heated touchline atmosphere. Haaland’s opener followed a VAR review that prompted a visible disagreement between Pep Guardiola and Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler, resulting in a yellow card for the City manager.
Brighton equalized on the hour mark when Kaoru Mitoma positioned himself at the edge of the area and guided a low strike into the far corner. City nearly regained the lead through Bernardo Silva, who hit the post, while Haaland saw a late effort saved by Bart Verbruggen after earlier having a header cleared off the line.
Guardiola was forced to field a makeshift defense due to injuries to Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, and John Stones. This led to a professional debut for 20-year-old academy product Max Alleyne, who was recalled from a loan at Watford only days ago, alongside 21-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov.
Despite the defensive shuffle, Brighton found several openings, with Gianluigi Donnarumma forced into saves against Ferdi Kadioglu and Georginio Rutter. To bolster the squad following Savinho’s two-month injury layoff, City is expected to finalize the signing of Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo by the end of the week.
Post-match, Guardiola lamented his team’s inability to convert their 22 attempts at goal. "I liked a lot the way we played, a lot," Guardiola said. "But we don't score goals. It's too many clear chances... scoring goals is part of doing your job."
Hürzeler was satisfied with the draw despite his team’s early missed chances and defensive lapses. "We made too many mistakes to win the game, so that's why we have to be happy with a draw," the Brighton manager remarked. He also downplayed the touchline tensions, noting that emotions are a natural part of a tight game.
The result leaves City looking far less dominant than the side that finished 2025 with eight straight wins. Having failed to beat Sunderland, Chelsea, and now Brighton in successive weeks, they have handed the initiative to Arsenal.
With the potential gap widening to eight points by Thursday night, Guardiola must now find a way to galvanize a depleted squad. City’s upcoming fixtures will be critical in determining if they can regain the rhythm necessary to challenge for a trophy they have won six times in the past eight seasons.
