“Too many clear chances” – Pep Guardiola criticises Manchester City forwards after third successive draw | OneFootball

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was honest in his assessment as his side were held to a third straight draw of 2026 by Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday night.

Kaoru Mitoma’s 60th minute finish from the edge of the Manchester City box succumbed Guardiola and co to another setback in the title race, leaving Arsenal with a golden opportunity to establish an eight point lead at the top of the table by the weekend.

The Gunners welcome Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium on Thursday evening and in the backdrop of wins over Aston Villa and Bournemouth to start 2026, the north Londoners will be confident to get the job done over the reigning Premier League champions.

City were dominant in the first-half against Brighton but a profligacy in attack saw the Blues enter the interval with a slim advantage, with Haaland converting a penalty on 41 minutes after Jeremy Doku was brought down in the area.

However, the Seagulls responded in resolute fashion after the restart and despite handing Manchester City a series of chances to kill the game on a plate, Lady Luck shone on Fabian Hürzeler’s men as they somehow stayed on the hosts’ heels to make Mitoma’s chance count on the hour mark.

Haaland missed a number of clearcut opportunities to put the game to bed, with City captain Bernardo Silva also sparing the visitors’ blushes less than a minute into the second-half. Rayan Cherki also came close a few times after his introduction, with Guardiola’s men ruing their wastefulness in front of goal after totalling six dropped points in 2026 as a result.

Reflecting on a third successive Premier League draw, Guardiola said: “It’s not about deserving to win the game; the result is the result. I’m not a person who believes what we have done is unfair. The result is the result, one point for them and one points for us, and that is what it is.”

Though he liked Manchester City’s performance all-round, Guardiola admitted that his side were the architects of their own downfall after failing to establish some breathing room and allowing Brighton the chance to rescue a point.

The Catalan added: “I liked a lot the way we played, a lot! Many, many new players, and many good things. But I loved a lot the many good things.

“But we don’t score goals; it’s too many clear chances and it’s not just one player, two players, three players, it’s all the people up front – we created a lot. And unfortunately we could not score, and scoring goals is part of doing your job.

“We played exceptionally well. We did very, very good things, defensively the team is incredibly committed, defending really good with everyone. But we created a lot, chances in the six-yard box, and we could not score, it’s everyone.”

City are making it harder for themselves to stake a claim for a fifth Premier League title in six seasons with every passing week, handing Arsenal a chance to increase their lead at the top of the pile ahead of next week’s games.

“Of course if we don’t win games, we cannot think about things,” Guardiola said. “We had an incredible result in Nottingham Forest, a tough game, and after we played three games and analysing how we played? We played really good.”

The 54-year-old was also quizzed for his two cents on the VAR decision to award City a first-half penalty, with referee Thomas Bramall initially deeming the challenge on Doku was not worth penalising.

“It was a penalty. I don’t know how the referee didn’t whistle and it had to be VAR to do it. There are too many things that were too clear. Now it’s an easy job for the referees, an easy job,” Guardiola added.

City are expected to confirm the signing of Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth over the weekend, with the 26-year-old Ghana forward scheduled to undergo a medical in Manchester on Thursday morning ahead of a £65 million transfer to the Etihad Stadium.