Manchester City struggled to a 1-1 draw with Brighton in the Premier League to drop points for the third game in a row
Manchester City could not beat Brighton
Manchester City frustrations boiled over as they dropped points for the third time in seven days. Pep Guardiola’s side, missing nine first-team players through injury and unavailability, got themselves in front in a bad-tempered game when Erling Haaland slotted home a first-half penalty.
Bernardo Silva missed a golden chance to add to their lead though and Brighton made them pay as Kaoru Mitoma arrowed home an equaliser. Haaland had a header cleared off the line and a shot from close range saved in a frantic finale but City did not have enough to go back in front.
Guardiola had to be dragged into shaking Fabian Hurzeler’s hand at full-time but away from the squabbling City have more to worry about. Five points behind Arsenal having played a game more, City have lost all momentum and are fighting to stay in the title race. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News.
Donnarumma: A few scary moments but also some decent saves when he was left exposed by the defence. 6
Nunes: Ran out of steam in the second half and it was nearly a costly error for the ball to drop over his head and into Mitoma’s path. 6
Khusanov: His slide tackles are about as telegraphed as Nicolas Otamendi’s but his pace was useful to keep Brighton quiet. 7
Alleyne: Looked confident on debut with his new teammates and comfortable bringing the ball up the pitch. 7
Ake: Brighton looked to beat him in a foot race and did on occasion, although he wasn’t troubled too much. 6
Gonzalez: Back in the team after his injury at Sunderland but he did not look fresh and Rodri was ready to replace him for a long time before he actually did. 6
Silva: A glaring miss just after half-time that would have made the game comfortable for City, and didn’t produce enough in attack. 6
Foden: Looked like a man in need of a rest, struggling to get his legs to carry out what his brain wanted them to do. 5
Reijnders: Didn’t influence the game enough, unable to keep or carry the ball for any length of time. 5
Doku: City’s freshest attacker. He probably should have done more with the ball he had but he did win the penalty. 7
Haaland: Scored the penalty and did well in his physical battles but he should have scored when teed up late on. 6
Substitutes
Rodri (for Haaland, 64) Couldn’t drive the game like he wanted to. 6
Cherki (for Foden, 73) Came on and instantly made an impact. 7
O’Reilly (for Ake, 73) Kept City solid at the back. 6
Lewis (for Nunes, 73) Some decent balls forward. 6
Not used: Trafford, Mfuni, R.Heskey, McAidoo, Mukasa