A fiery encounter at the Etihad Stadium saw Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion play out a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, with tensions running high between the two sides. The result extends City’s winless run to three consecutive league draws and leaves them five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, who have 48 points ahead of their clash with Liverpool.
Manchester City opened the scoring four minutes before the interval through Erling Haaland, who converted a penalty after Jeremy Doku was fouled by Diego Gomez. The decision was reviewed by VAR before being confirmed, and Haaland made no mistake from the spot, scoring his 150th goal for the club and his 20th in the Premier League this season, ending a three-game drought.
The second half saw City push for a second goal, with Bernardo Silva striking the post after pouncing on a Brighton error. The match became heated when City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and Brighton’s Maxim De Cuyper became involved in a confrontation, with both players receiving yellow cards from the referee for their actions.
Brighton equalised in the 60th minute through Kaoru Mitoma, who received a pass from the flank and expertly guided a low shot into the far corner from the edge of the box. The goal shifted the momentum entirely in Brighton’s favour, as they began to control possession and create dangerous opportunities.
The visitors came within inches of claiming all three points when Mitoma’s effort from a tight angle rattled the post following a goal-mouth scramble. In the final moments, Haaland had a clear opportunity to win the match for City, finding himself one-on-one with Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, but the keeper produced a magnificent save to deny him and secure a valuable point for Brighton.