Manchester City held by Brighton regardless of main twice

Manchester City stumbled once more within the battle to safe a return to the Champions League as they had been pegged again twice by fellow top-five challengers Brighton in an entertaining encounter at Etihad Stadium. 

Erling Haaland grew to become the primary participant to achieve 100 Premier League objective involvements in fewer than 100 video games when he marked his 94th look within the competitors together with his 84th objective by sending Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen the flawed manner together with his Eleventh-minute penalty. 

In a sport of excellent targets, Pervis Estupinan levelled with a curling free-kick that bounced in off a submit, though City keeper Stefan Ortega, in for injured first-choice Ederson, didn’t cowl himself in glory as he initially moved to his proper earlier than altering path and ultimately watching the ball go in with a shocked look on his first. 

Omar Marmoush levelled with an excellent 20-yard strike into the underside nook, just for City’s brittle defence to allow them to down once more three minutes after the restart as Abdukodir Khusanov diverted Jack Hinshelwood’s effort into his personal web. 

In a frenzied end, City supervisor Pep Guardiola grew more and more irritated at referee Simon Hooper following challenges on Josko Gvardiol and Bernardo Silva, who had to get replaced 18 minutes after approaching instead. 

Nico Gonzalez hit a submit because the hosts pressed however it was Brighton, who’ve by no means gained an away sport towards City and had been claiming their first level within the fixture since 1982, who ought to have claimed victory, just for Carlos Baleba to balloon a shot over the bar when he had arrived with a wonderfully timed run to fulfill Joao Pedro’s cross unmarked in a central place 12 yards out. 

City slip up 

It is now 4 factors in 4 video games for Guardiola’s aspect. 

While any hope of retaining their title had lengthy since disappeared, it did really feel as if a partial return to kind can be sufficient to information them into subsequent season’s Champions League with one thing to spare. 

That expectation is slowly eroding even when their run-in contains conferences with Leicester City, Wolves and Southampton. 

Guardiola’s prolonged post-match chat with Hooper underlined his unhappiness at how the sport had been officiated. But he may also know Brighton had been the equal of his personal aspect, who had been lucky to flee with some extent given Baleba’s horrible miss. 

Presently, City lack consistency. 

Last week they may not reap the benefits of some respectable method play. This time round, they may discover the online however had no management in central midfield as Gonzalez and Ilkay Gundogan discovered it tough to stem the guests’ midfield and that allowed Brighton an excessive amount of area across the penalty space. 

Jeremy Doku, unlucky to be cautioned for a dive as he was leaping out of hurt’s manner as Jan Paul van Hecke thundered in, flattered to deceive on the left. Savinho didn’t even do this on the appropriate as soon as he had wasted a superb first-half likelihood. 

 Despite this, Jack Grealish remained on the bench all through. Omitted by new England boss Thomas Tuchel on Friday, Grealish actually is at a crossroads in his profession because the marketing campaign attracts to an in depth. 

Gomez shines for Brighton 

Brighton have made an artwork type of raiding South America for unknown gamers and turning them into priceless Premier League stars. 

Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister at the moment are plying their commerce with Chelsea and Liverpool respectively. Estupinan’s first Premier League objective since December 2023 was a reminder of how good the Ecuador defender might be. 

Diego Gomez doesn’t fairly fall into the identical unknown class given he spent 2024 taking part in alongside Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. 

However, at 21 the Paraguay midfielder is a great distance from his peak. Already he has the makings of being ideally suited to the hustle and bustle of Premier League life. 

Whether it was coming again to execute a wonderfully timed sliding deal with on Haaland to forestall the Norwegian threatening the Brighton objective or transferring into superior positions however not fairly making the most of Van Hecke’s cross or Mitoma’s supposed throughball, his was an attention grabbing show. 

It was Gomez’s low second-half cross that introduced a glance of incredulity on Brighton supervisor Fabian Hurzeler’s face as Yankuba Minteh by some means didn’t get the contact that will have given Brighton the lead for the primary time in historical past at this stadium. 

By the time he was substituted quarter-hour from time, Gomez had performed a full half in a superb Brighton efficiency that was historic within the sense of attaining some extent – and, on solely his second Premier League begin, he has a lot extra to supply.