This showdown of Champions League contenders ended with spoils shared so Manchester City, in fifth place, still lead Brighton, who are seventh, by a point. The draw, then, is a rosy result for Newcastle, as they are sandwiched between them and have played a game fewer so have an opportunity to leapfrog Pep Guardiola’s men.
Match day 29 for City and Brighton fired the gun on the final 10 matches and with so many teams in the chase for a shot at the European Cup, final-day excitement surely awaits.
In a rollercoaster finish, City and Brighton came close to snatching all three points. Nico González’s header smacked off Bart Verbruggen’s left post, then Carlos Baleba skied over with Stefan Ortega’s goal gaping.
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A point each felt fair, though, and each side remain what they have been all season. City are a powderpuff proposition and Brighton an ever-improving force.
Guardiola’s headline selection decisions read as curios. While Ederson was not in the match-day unit for fitness reasons, to bench all of Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne seemed an odd way to seek victory.
The genius Catalan is difficult to argue with, of course. And when Savinho skipped inside, Adam Webster chopped him down and Simon Hooper awarded a penalty that Erling Haaland converted, the masterplan seemed to be up and running 11 minutes in.
But this is City 2024-25, not the vintage that reeled off the last four titles. Moments before, Kaoru Mitoma had a strike chalked off for bundling into Orgeta, Ederson’s replacement, at close range. Brighton’s fortunes were then tipped 180 degrees, but a front-foot approach suggested how they could still prosper.
The visitors harried their hosts, too, causing loose passes from Rico Lewis and González that chagrined Guardiola. When Haaland weaved into position to shoot near the Seagulls D, Diego Gómez flew back to execute a slide-tackle that needed to be – and was – precise.
As was Pervis Estupiñán’s admirable equaliser. To the right of City’s D, Brighton’s left-back jogged forward and struck a howitzer of a free-kick that ranged low, pinballing off the left post, Ortega a statue when he should have at least dived.
A key element missing this term from the City armoury is precision. Guardiola talks of how his unit is built to play passes but countless times these have been misplaced, as when an Ortega hoof went straight to Brighton.
Better geometry was displayed when the lively Savinho and Omar Marmoush exchanged measured balls and the Brazilian raced at Verbruggen’s goal. But as he pulled the trigger Jan Paul van Hecke sprinted over and the attempt ballooned wide.
Ilkay Gündogan was the next culprit in blue to commit imprecision, his effort being scuffed. But the German compensated via the next act. González pilfered possession, tapped to Gündogan, and he tapped to Marmoush. The Egyptian took a breath, then blazed a long-range finish off the left post and City led, again, with the break approaching.
Seconds after, though, the fragility that is another of City’s weak points this campaign handed João Pedro a gilded opening. From a left-back zone Josko Gvardiol passed right, Rúben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov dawdled, and Pedro pounced and shot, narrowly missing the target.
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Khusanov was soon to find a goal, but the wrong one. Seconds after the break Jérémy Doku’s trickery created an opening no colleague could convert and City’s profligacy was punished. At a Brighton corner from the left Webster headed on and Jack Hinshelwood stabbed at the ball: it was going wide but the hapless Khusanov somehow steered home.
Calamitous defending was followed by calamitous No 9 play from João Pedro, who should have given Brighton the lead but, with Ortega’s goal begging to be found from yards away, he missed the ball completely.
When Guardiola introduced Foden on 76 minutes it was for an injured Silva, who had replaced Savinho earlier. Their manager could be pleased with how City were now dominant, Doku shredding the visitors down the left continually. But at the final whistle Brighton could be the happier.
