Erling Haaland could not seize several opportunities to move Manchester City to within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal ahead as, despite scoring from the penalty spot to put his side ahead at the Etihad, Brighton fought back to claim a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, extending City's frustrating run of draws to three games in the top-flight.
On another nervy and frustrating night for City, they were made to rue more missed chances in the final third as their hopes of reclaiming the title took another significant hit. As expected, Pep Guardiola's side took control of proceedings, dominating possession and penning Brighton back in their own half, and Jeremy Doku was an early bright spark for the hosts, though a sturdy Seagulls backline frustrated the Belgian and his team-mates.
Haaland was in the same boat, but he was handed a golden chance to finally end his struggles in front of goal as, after some smart work from Doku, who carried the ball into the box before cutting back onto his right foot, tricking Diego Gomez into fouling him to win City a penalty, which Haaland coolly dispatched to end his three-game drought.
There were golden chances for City to extend their advantage in the game, with Bernardo Silva wasteful with one particular chance to tee up Haaland for a second. And in the second half, Brighton made them pay. A clever move from Kaoru Mitoma saw him open up some space on the edge of the box, before he curled an effort into the far corner.
City huffed and puffed for the rest of the evening, creating chance after chance, only to be denied by Brighton time and time again. Substitute Rayan Cherki put the ball on a plate for Haaland to win the game late on, but the Norwegian hit his shot straight at the goalkeeper.
GOAL rates Manchester City's players from the Etihad...