Pep Guardiola was left frustrated once again as Manchester City were held to a third straight draw, settling for a 1-1 stalemate against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium. It marked only the third time in Guardiola’s City tenure that his side have drawn three consecutive matches, while Brighton narrowly missed out on a historic first victory at the ground.

Still reeling from a late collapse against Chelsea that cost them two points — and saw defensive stalwarts Rúben Dias and Joško Gvardiol sidelined through injury — City were almost punished early on by a familiar Brighton face. Inside the opening two minutes, Pascal Groß drifted away from debutant Max Alleyne to meet Diego Gómez’s cross, but Gianluigi Donnarumma reacted sharply to keep out the header.

Brighton continued to exploit City’s shaky start, carving out another opening on the break through Ferdi Kadıoğlu, only for Donnarumma to intervene again. While the hosts soon dominated possession, Guardiola’s high and inexperienced defensive line continued to look vulnerable.

Georginio Rutter was next to burst through on goal, but Abdukodir Khusanov made a crucial recovery challenge to deny Brighton a clear opportunity. That moment proved pivotal, as City finally found some rhythm in the attacking third and capitalised on Brighton’s missed chances just before half-time. Jeremy Doku surged into the box and was clipped by Gómez, allowing Erling Haaland to convert from the penalty spot for his first goal in four matches.

Despite Bernardo Silva striking the post early in the second half, City failed to fully assert themselves after the restart. Brighton’s persistence was rewarded with a deserved equaliser when Kaoru Mitoma cut inside from the left following a pass from Yasin Ayari and curled a composed finish into the far corner.

The visitors nearly completed the turnaround moments later, but Gómez was unable to adjust his body to tap into an open goal after another dangerous Mitoma delivery. From there, the closing stages belonged to City as they pushed desperately for a winner.

Kadıoğlu produced a vital goal-line clearance to deny Haaland, while City’s striker also squandered a golden chance late on by shooting straight at Bart Verbruggen after a defensive error. Rayan Cherki came close in stoppage time, but Brighton held firm.

City have now dropped points from winning positions at home in back-to-back matches for the first time since March 2025, and a sluggish start to 2026 leaves them vulnerable to Arsenal opening up an eight-point lead at the top after matchday 21.

For Brighton, the result marked just the fourth time they have avoided defeat in 16 visits to the Etihad — and, notably, the first time they have gone unbeaten against City in consecutive seasons.