Manchester City’s title defense suffered another blow on Wednesday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion at home. The result represents the third consecutive Premier League match without a win for Pep Guardiola’s side, who now sit five points behind Arsenal.
The opening goal came from the penalty spot four minutes before halftime when Erling Haaland converted after Jeremy Doku was fouled by Diego Gomez in the box. VAR reviewed and upheld the referee’s decision, allowing Haaland to score his 150th goal for the club. The strike also ended the Norwegian’s three-match barren spell and brought his Premier League total for the season to 20 goals.
City nearly doubled their advantage shortly after the restart when Bernardo Silva capitalized on a Brighton mistake, but his effort struck the post. The match’s intensity increased when a confrontation erupted between City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and Brighton’s Maxim De Cuyper, with both players receiving yellow cards.
Brighton equalized in the 60th minute through Kaoru Mitoma, who demonstrated excellent composure and technique. The Japanese winger received a pass from the flank, positioned himself at the edge of the penalty area, and guided a low shot into the far corner with precision.
After equalizing, Brighton took control of the match, slowing the tempo and building attacks carefully. They came close to completing the comeback when Mitoma created an opportunity for Gomez inside the box, but the midfielder’s shot was saved by Donnarumma, and Mitoma’s follow-up attempt struck the post. In the final moments, Haaland had a clear chance to win the game when he broke through one-on-one with Verbruggen, but the Brighton goalkeeper produced an excellent save to ensure the points were shared.