This time, Erling Haaland opened the scoring by converting a penalty at the end of the first half, which instilled hope in the "City" fans for a recovery after previous draws with "Sunderland" and "Chelsea." However, in the second half, Japanese forward Kaoru Mitoma, who scored his first goal since September, equalized and denied Pep Guardiola's team the much-needed victory.
This result gives "Arsenal," currently at the top of the league, the chance to extend their lead to eight points if they win against "Liverpool" on Thursday.
At the end of the match, "City" had chances to snatch a victory, but Haaland and Ryan Cherki failed to capitalize on their opportunities. The start of the new year has been challenging for the Manchester side due to serious squad issues, especially in defense: Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, and John Stones have all suffered injuries.
As a result, Guardiola had to field an inexperienced center-back pairing — 21-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov and debutant Max Allain, who was urgently recalled from his loan at "Watford" this week.
"Brighton" started the match actively and repeatedly troubled "City" goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma: Pascal Groß and Ferdi Kadıoğlu both had dangerous shots. In the first half, "City" struggled to create many chances, although Khusanov successfully stopped Georginio Rutter's one-on-one opportunity.
Before the break, there was a controversial moment when Jeremy Doku went down in the penalty area. Referee Thomas Bramall initially did not award a penalty, which led to a yellow card for Guardiola, but after reviewing VAR, the decision was changed. Haaland confidently converted the penalty.
In the second half, "City" failed to take advantage of their lead and were punished: Mitoma equalized with a precise shot from the edge of the penalty area. Soon after, "Brighton" could have taken the lead, but Diego Gomez missed a great opportunity.
Despite pressure from "City" at the end of the match, including a shot from Haaland that was cleared off the line and an inaccurate attempt from Cherki, the visitors managed to hold on for a draw.
This dropped points increase the pressure on "Manchester City" in the title race amid inconsistent results and squad problems.
