Manchester City’s push for the Premier League title suffered another setback as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s side edged ahead late in the first half through Erling Haaland, who converted from the penalty spot after a VAR review ruled that Diego Gomez had tripped Jeremy Doku inside the box.
The strike marked a major milestone for the Norwegian, who reached 150 goals for City in just 173 appearances.
Brighton, however, earned their reward on the hour mark. Kaoru Mitoma latched onto a clever pass from Yasin Ayari and rifled a precise effort into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the area to level the contest.
City pushed hard for a winner but were left frustrated once again. Haaland squandered a close-range opportunity, while substitute Rayan Cherki blasted wide in the dying minutes as the champions settled for a third consecutive draw to begin 2026.
The result leaves City at risk of slipping eight points behind league leaders Arsenal, who host Liverpool on Thursday. Brighton, meanwhile, remain five points off the top four.
The hosts endured a nervy start, with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma forced into sharp saves to deny Pascal Gross and Ferdi Kadioglu.
Despite Brighton’s early pressure, City broke the deadlock in the 41st minute when Haaland calmly dispatched his spot-kick.
Gomez partially atoned for conceding the penalty just before the interval by clearing Tijjani Reijnders’ effort off the goal line. After the break, Bernardo Silva struck the post within seconds of the restart following a loose pass from Ayari.
That mistake proved costly moments later, as Ayari produced a superb through ball for Mitoma, who made no mistake with his finish.
Brighton almost completed the turnaround soon after, but Gomez somehow failed to convert from close range after Mitoma’s effort rebounded off the post.
City dominated possession late on and penned Brighton deep, yet Bart Verbruggen stood firm. Haaland fired straight at the Dutch goalkeeper from close range, while Cherki’s late effort flew narrowly wide.
Guardiola’s men are enduring a difficult start to the year, having also drawn with Sunderland and Chelsea, the latter match leaving Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias sidelined with injuries. With John Stones still unavailable, City’s defensive issues have worsened.
Despite the crisis, Guardiola resisted turning to the transfer market and handed 20-year-old Max Alleyne a surprise debut just a day after recalling him from a Championship loan at Watford.
Although Alleyne impressed, City’s defensive frailties were exposed in the build-up to Brighton’s equaliser.
Brighton, buoyed by a recent win over Burnley, played with confidence and intent throughout. Fabian Hurzeler’s side caused problems on the counter and showed resilience late on, even finding time to hand James Milner a landmark appearance as the veteran became just the fifth outfield player to feature in the Premier League at the age of 40 or above.
City now face Exeter City in the FA Cup and Newcastle United in the EFL Cup before a high-stakes Premier League clash with Manchester United on January 17. For Brighton, attention turns to an FA Cup trip to Manchester United, followed by a league meeting with Bournemouth.
