Manchester City 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 2: match reportMore frustration for City as they are held to a draw at home by a not far behind Brighton
Manchester City welcomed Brighton and Hove Albion to the Etihad stadium following a 1-0 defeat away at Nottingham Forest last week, which inflicted a blow on City’s bid for Champions League qualification amidst a disastrous title defence. De Bruyne remained absent in the team today and Ederson was ruled out with a minor injury. Ortega started the game in goal, Lewis, Khusanov, Dias and Gvardiol were in defence, Gonzalez and Gundogan were in the holding midfield with Doku, Marmoush and Savio in attack with Haaland the striker.
Overall, the match was significantly difficult for the Blues with the Seagulls having their own periods of possession throughout both halves. Brighton actually had the ball in the net within 6 minutes following a cross in to the box leading to what would’ve been yet another first shot on target concession for City however, the goal was ruled out as Mitoma was judged to have committed a foul on Ortega as the ball went in.
However, the Blues still very much retained their attacking flare and following dispossessing Brighton in the ninth minutes Marmoush raced into the box and a tackle from Webster was mistimed and sent Marmoush to the ground and a penalty was awarded to City without any second thoughts from the referee Simon Hooper. Haaland sent Verbruggen the wrong way and slotted the ball in the right corner to give the Blues the lead after 11 minutes.
Brighton certainly did not back down from this set back and continued to push on, in the 20th minute, despite City protests for simulation Brighton were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area following a careless foul from Dias. Estupinan stepped up and took the shot and the ball bounced off the inside of the post and in to bring the Seagulls back on level terms.
The rest of the first half was for the most part dominated by City. Savio missed a great chance in the 33rd minute clean through but the shot was way off target, something that has been troubling the winger all season. Brighton continued to pose danger but a shot from Minteh was well wide by 20 yards.
City got their noses back in front on the stroke of half time with a fantastic strike from Marmoush outside the box off the post and in emphatically. 2-1 to City at half time.
The lead unfortunately did not last long. In the 48th minute, a Brighton corner fell to the head of Webster and the ensuing shot came off Khusanov and into the back of the net to once again make the scores level, an own goal for the young City defender.
Substitutions were made by City with Savio being replaced by Bernardo however, Brighton remained a huge threat with a save having to be made by Ortega in the 64th minute following the shot from Baleba. Bernardo Silva had to go off injured and was replaced by Foden and De Bruyne came on for Marmoush however, City just couldn’t find a way through with the closest chance coming in the 79th minute after Gonzalez hit the woodwork from close range from a corner. Brighton arguably had the last big chance but the shot was blazed over the bar by Baleba.
A missed free kick just wide of the post from De Bruyne sealed the draw. Top five remains a danger for the Blues and will need to be at their very best for the rest of the season to reach those Champions League spots, there is no more easy fixtures this season as the resilient Seagulls showed.
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