15 March 2025
Man City 2 Brighton 2
Pep Guardiola’s side welcomed Brighton to The Etihad, something of a must-win game for Man City if they are going to ensure they secure Champions League qualification for next season. The visitors were level on points with the hosts coming into this match, hoping they could continue their good form and challenge for European football themselves.
The Seagulls started in confident mood as they passed the ball around. Gomez played a clever ball out wide for Hinshelwood, in acres of space. He drove forward before putting in a teasing cross in behind the Man City defence. Mitoma attacked it at the back post and managed to bundle it over the line but the referee immediately awarded a free-kick to the hosts.
Looking at the replay, the Japanese winger seemed to head it out of the hands of Ortega and may well have handled it before scoring. It was a case of take your pick as to why it was ruled out. That said, from his position, it is difficult to see how the referee had seen any of that. It is more likely that he got lucky and as with most officials nowadays had just been giving the keeper too much protection.
Man City came forward and Haaland unselfishly held the ball up before laying it off to Marmoush. He feigned a shot before cutting back onto is left-foot. Webster was completely sold by the dummy and lunged in to try and block it, before his trailing leg brought the Egyptian down. The referee immediately pointed to the spot and there was no complaint from the defender.
Haaland stepped up to take it and sent the keeper the wrong way as he buried his spot-kick into the bottom corner. The hosts had taken an early lead in a game that they had struggled to impose themselves in, not that Pep Guardiola was complaining. Fabian Hurzeler’s side needed to find a response before they allowed this match to get away from them.
Brighton did just that as Joao Pedro was bundled over by Gonzalez just outside the box. Estupinan stepped up to take it and drilled his effort in off the far post to silence The Etihad. It was a superb strike from the Ecuadorian defender, leaving Ortega rooted to the spot as nothing more than a spectator. The travelling fans celebrated wildly in the away end.
Before the interval, Mitoma gave the ball away in the final third. Gundogan shifted it to Marmoush who had time and space to set himself up for the shot. He drilled his effort into the bottom corner with Verbruggen left statuesque. Man City had managed to restore their lead and it seemed that normal service had been resumed.
The visitors should have got themselves on level terms before the break. City were passing the ball around before it seemed their entire defence started glitching like an old video game. Joao Pedro accepted the gift as he made a beeline towards goal. Sadly for The Seagulls, he dragged his shot narrowly wide of the far post. Massive let off for Guardiola’s side.
Into the second-half and it was the visitors who looked to try and take control of the game. After forcing a corner, the cross was headed down into the path of Hinshelwood. He tried to steer a shot towards the corner but it struck Khusanov and sent the ball past Ortega and into the back of the net. The Uzbek defender is really struggling at this level since his January transfer.
While most fans will always give a new player time to bed in, it does not seem to be happening for the youngster. In this game alone, he failed to make any tackles and his attempted long-range passes never found their intended target. He has come into a City side that seems to have lost its mojo and the Uzbek’s performances are just as woeful.
The Seagulls should have taken the lead when they broke and sliced through the hosts’ defence like a hot knife through butter. Gomez squared the ball across the six yard box and it came all the way through to Minteh at the back post. It was almost as if the winger did not expect it to come him as he failed to sort his feet and completely missed the ball.
If a player’s career at a club could be summed up in one piece of play, this was it for Doku. He did brilliantly to use his skill and pace to beat two Brighton players. As he got towards the penalty area, he saw a sliding challenge coming in from van Hecke. As he looked to jump over it, his touch was heavy and the ball was heading out. In mid-air he somehow changed his jump into a dive.
The referee was not fooled by his antics whatsoever. He awarded a free-kick to the visitors and showed the Belgian winger a yellow card. While Guardiola remonstrated with the fourth official, when he sees the replay, he should apologise. The only way we can stamp out this play acting from the game is to do exactly what the referee did, book the offending would-be actor.
However, consistency does not seem to be something these officials are capable of. As Gvardiol looked to bring the ball out of defence, his trailing arm caught Joao Pedro in the chest. The Brazilian threw himself to the floor clutching his throat. Considering the action taken against Doku, this should have resulted in a yellow card also.
It was not a good day for Guardiola’s new signings. As a corner came into the box, Gonzalez had a completely free-header at the back post. How he didn’t score was baffling as his effort came back off the post. Moments later The Seagulls broke and it was laid on a plate for Baleba, with the goal at his mercy. It was a dreadful effort as he skied it over the bar, resulting in both sides sharing the points.
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