• 41′ – Erling Haaland – Manchester City (penalty)
• 60′ – Kaoru Mitoma – Brighton & Hove Albion
Manchester City were held to a 1–1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium, their third consecutive Premier League draw, as mounting injuries and wasteful finishing continued to hinder the title defence. Erling Haaland’s first-half penalty brought up his 150th goal for the club, but Kaoru Mitoma struck after the break to earn Brighton the point.
Brighton threatened immediately. In the 3rd minute, Pascal Groß met a cross with a close-range header that was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, who reacted sharply on his line. It was the first of several important interventions from the City goalkeeper.
City went ahead shortly before half-time. Jérémy Doku was brought down inside the area and, after a VAR check, a penalty was awarded. Haaland converted in the 41st minute, sending Bart Verbruggen the wrong way to give the hosts a 1–0 interval lead.
The champions had chances to extend their advantage early in the second half, with Bernardo Silva hitting the woodwork, but Brighton levelled on the hour. Mitoma equalised in the 60th minute, cutting in from the left and finishing low into the corner beyond Donnarumma.
Mitoma remained a constant danger. In the 70th minute, following a miscue from Matheus Nunes, the Japanese winger drove into the box and his effort deflected onto the post in another major scare for City.
James Milner’s introduction in the 84th minute saw him replace Yasin Ayari, while Mitoma left the pitch at the same time, with Watson entering to freshen Brighton’s wide areas.
City continue to operate with a depleted squad. Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol and John Stones were all missing, and academy product Max Alleyne made his senior debut. With winger Savinho also ruled out for a significant spell, the imminent arrival of Antoine Semenyo for £65m from Bournemouth is expected to provide much-needed physicality, direct running and goals to Guardiola’s forward line, addressing a lack of cutting edge that has become increasingly evident.
Despite late pressure, including a Haaland header blocked and a Rayan Cherki effort over the bar, City could not force a winner. They have now dropped nine points from winning positions this season, while Brighton move to 11th in the Premier League table.
Pep Guardiola admitted frustration afterwards, saying: “We missed the passes… we don’t score goals. Too many clear chances and unfortunately we could not score.” Jeremy Doku added: “A draw at home is never really a good point.”
This result also lands at a difficult moment in the calendar. The draw comes at the start of a gruelling run of 10 games in 31 days, testing City’s depleted squad to its limit. They now turn to the FA Cup tie against Exeter, while Brighton leave Manchester with a valuable away point.
