7th January 2026
By Joseph Armstrong-Gardner
Image Credit: Getty Images
City have had a slow start to 2026 with 3 consecutive Premier League draws to Sunderland, Chelsea, and now Brighton. Additionally, Pep Guardiola’s men have been struck with an injury crisis to their backline, further cementing Arsenal as favourites in this year’s title race.
Brighton started the game off strong, exploiting gaps in City’s defense with Rutter running down on goal only to be halted by Abdukodir Khusanov’s crucial last-ditch tackle.
After multiple missed chances, Brighton had only themselves to blame when Jeremy Doku was brought down in the box by Diego Gomez, resulting in the referee awarding a penalty in the 41st minute after reviewing it on the pitchside monitor.
The Norwegian robot Erling Haaland converted the penalty with ease to score is 150th goal for the club and the Premier League’s 35,000th goal since its 1992 inception.
Captain Bernardo Silva grazed the post in the 2nd half as the hosts looked to double their lead, however it was Fabian Hurzeler’s men who hit back through Kaoru Mitoma’s lovely finish from just outside the 18-yard box, drilling the ball into the bottom right corner, giving Donnarumma no chance.
Gomez sensationally missed when incisively found by Mitoma a couple of yards from goal, and both sides had to settle for a point.
Man City analysis:
The 2 point deficit that Man City faced on the 1st of January will stretch to 8 points if Mikel Arteta’s men can achieve a victory over Liverpool on Thursday night.
The debut of 20-year-old academy product Max Alleyne came about due to injuries to Gvardiol, Dias, and Stones, which left Guardiola no choice but to trust Alleyne, who was recalled from Watford. His performance was defensively sound, with the young centre back performing the basics relatively well.
City, who faced a few scares towards the end of the game, look far from the side that ended 2025 with 8 straight wins, and Guardiola has work to do to galvanise his depleted squad, with rumors regarding the potential arrival of Marc Guehi still circulating.
Brighton Analysis:
The Seagulls will have left the Etihad feeling disappointed with a draw as City were there for the taking, but Brighton were unable to leverage their opportunities.
Kadioglu and Rutter were guilty of some of Brighton’s most gaping misses throughout the 90 minutes.
Since all the dust is settled, Fabian Hürzeler’s men extended their unbeaten run against City to four league games, with this result being a good one despite Brighton’s missed opportunities.
What’s next for City and Brighton?
Manchester City host Exeter in the 3rd round of the FA Cup on Saturday at 3 pm GMT.
Brighton travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the same competition on Sunday at 4:30 pm GMT.