January 08, (THEWILL) — Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium, marking Pep Guardiola’s third successive stalemate for only the third time in his managerial career. The result came after City lost key defenders, Ruben Dias and Joško Gvardiol, to injury in their previous match against Chelsea, forcing debutant, Max Alleyne, into the starting line-up.
Brighton threatened early when Pascal Gross met Diego Gomez’s cross inside two minutes, but goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, made the save. Ferdi Kadıoğlu and Georginio Rutter both had opportunities on the counter-attack before City gained control, with Jeremy Doku winning a penalty just before half-time after being brought down by Gomez. Erling Haaland converted from the spot to register his first goal in four matches.
Brighton equalised in the second half through Kaoru Mitoma, who cut inside from the left and curled a finish into the far corner. The visitors nearly took the lead when Gomez failed to convert Mitoma’s cross at the back post. City pushed for a winner in the closing stages, with Kadioglu clearing Haaland’s header off the line before the Norwegian striker placed a late effort too close to Bart Verbruggen.
The home side have now dropped points from winning positions in consecutive matches at the Etihad Stadium, having last done so in March 2025. Bernardo Silva struck the post after the interval, whilst Rayan Cherki came close in added time, but City’s lacklustre start to 2026 continues. Arsenal could extend their lead to eight points when matchday 21 concludes.
Brighton avoided defeat at the Etihad Stadium for just the fourth time in 16 visits and have now gone unbeaten against City in consecutive seasons for the first time in their history. The draw leaves Guardiola’s side struggling for form whilst Brighton continue their improved record against the Citizens.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
