Five Things Learned: Manchester City 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion (Premier League) | OneFootball

Erling Haaland reached a historic 150-goal milestone for Manchester City as celebrations remained muted following a draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, leaving Premier League title hopes increasingly fragile.

Off the back of two straight draws against Sunderland and Chelsea, leaders Arsenal had already taken a six-point advantage over City ahead of their own clash with Liverpool on Thursday – and a victory for Pep Guardiola was fundamental in continuing the fight for a seventh title in nine seasons.

In the first-half, the game looked to be in City’s control minus a few spells of possession from Fabian Hurzeler’s side and those signs of dominance transpired after 41 minutes, when Jeremy Doku was taken down inside the penalty area by Diego Gomez, leading to a VAR review.

Referee Thomas Bramall confirmed the penalty after an on-field review, with Erling Haaland sinking his first goal in three Premier League games into the bottom right corner of the net. But it didn’t take the Seagulls long after the interval to expose Manchester City’s flaws.

Kaoru Mitoma managed to capitalise on City’s lack of defensive structure – intensified by the absences of Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias – by shaping up a shot from the edge of the penalty area before finishing into the bottom corner of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s net. 

And after making it six points dropped in just the club’s first three games of 2026, here are Five Things We Learned from Manchester City’s draw with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium!

Defensive reinforcements should be top priority for Pep

There are many, many things wrong with Manchester City’s football at the moment but one of the biggest flaws seen on Wednesday night was the structure, or should I say lack of structure, in the defensive third of the pitch. 

Matheus Nunes’ performances are too inconsistent and this game emitted a belief that Nathan Ake and Abdoukodir Khusanov as a defensive pairing just will not work in the short-term, especially if Guardiola and co are to fight for the Premier League title this season.

Max Alleyne, making his English top-flight debut, looked the strongest of Manchester City’s backline, which is as exciting as it is worrying. 

Of course, City have been linked with Crystal Palace star and captain Marc Guehi, and you would like to think that such a deal would materialise as soon as possible. Oliver Glasner said the club would sell for the “right price”, and Hugo Viana must simply meet those demands if he wants success in exchange.

It would be plausible for Manchester City officials to look for other defensive options too, with John Stones’ exit likely when his contract expires in the summer. 

The Premier League title is slipping away

In 2022, it was a victory against Brighton for Arsenal on New Year’s Eve that sent the Gunners seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table, and although City eventually won the league that season, there was a mentality about Guardiola’s side that made such ambitions expected.

This season, the roles are reversed. 

Although Manchester City are 11 games unbeaten, the previous three results being draws have killed all momentum that is the driving factor in a title race, as Pep Guardiola would have experienced many times in the past. 

That, paired with Arsenal’s record of losing once in their last 26 games across all competitions, comes with a near-unassailable task of overtaking the most motivated side in Europe at the moment.

The gap from Mikel Arteta’s side can be narrowed significantly when they and Manchester City meet at the Etihad Stadium in April but the race, by then, could be over depending on results until that point. There is no doubt the title is slipping away; results must improve. 

Give the Academy players a chance

As we know, the Manchester City Academy set-up is a gold mine for up-and-coming talent and Max Alleyne is another example of that judging off his first Premier League game in the club’s colours. 

In the first half, the 20-year-old completed the most dribbles and won the most duels out of every player on the pitch at the Etihad Stadium and was the brightest spark in an otherwise poor defence.

Having started at left-back before moving more central during a switch with Nathan Ake, Alleyne played well and had a good chance from a corner which he failed to score from. He also made some good decisions and could follow in the footsteps of those still competing at the top, such as Phil Foden, Nico O’Reilly and Rico Lewis.

Erling Haaland breaks the ‘drought’, but at what cost?

This game was Erling Haaland’s 173rd appearance in a Manchester City shirt, with him scoring his 150th in all competitions. It was also the 35,000th goal scored in the Premier League since its inception in 1992. 

The Norway international went three games without scoring which could be seen as a drought compared to his usual standards, but his clinical penalty served as a reminder that for a player of his calibre, a slump is a pause, not a decline. Though it made little difference.

Although his penalty earned a point for Manchester City, the individual spotlight serves little purpose when things are not going well at the club. For the Citizens, individual brilliance has always been the byproduct of a relentless collective machine but his achievement doesn’t illuminate City’s brilliance, but rather their growing shadows at this current period.

Irrepressible midfield control vanishes… until Rodri comes on

For so long, the dominance that Manchester City have held in football has come from legendary midfield stars: David Silva, Yaya Toure, Kevin de Bruyne. But now that the cracks have started showing of late, it can’t be helped to point at the midfield as much as the defence. 

Even though all of Manchester City’s midfielders on Wednesday – Nico, Tijjani Reijnders, Phil Foden – have priceless individual talent, the conjoined effort is missing key experience that can make the difference in these scrappy and physical games. 

When he came on after 64 minutes, the game changed shape completely and Manchester City began applying the pressure once again – which can also be thanked for Rayan Cherki’s efforts in the attack.

The biggest highlight, however, was how well Rodri managed the midfield, handled his teammates and eased the unremitting press from Brighton off the back of Mitoma’s goal at one stage in the game. With the thought of winning the Premier League in doubt, the inclusion of Rodri settles those worries slightly, but swings heavier the other way if he is to get injured once more.