Champions Manchester City‘s 12-game Premier League winning streak came to an end on Wednesday when they were beaten to a 1-1 draw at sixth-place Brighton and Hove Albion.
Phil Foden’s goal in the 25th minute gave treble-chasing City, who had just clinched their fifth championship in six seasons, the lead despite playing with less vigor than normal.
With the victory, Brighton has earned a spot in the Europa League, the club’s maiden foray into Europe. Brighton demonstrated why with some exciting play until Julio Enciso equalized for the visitors with a magnificent long-range shot in the 38th minute.
What a feat, what a set of gentlemen, what a club. A top, top manager is responsible for fostering the sense of community, culture, and unity. Special occasions,” remarked Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele.
Before the break, Brighton’s Danny Welbeck had a goal disallowed, and late in the game, Erling Haaland thought he had given City the lead but was penalized for shirt-pulling after a VAR review.
It was City’s first losing streak since the beginning of February. With one league match remaining on Sunday at Brentford, City has 89 points, eight more than Arsenal. Aston Villa, now in seventh place, is unable to reach Brighton’s total of 62.
Although City manager Pep Guardiola had already won another championship and the FA Cup and Champions League finals were still to come, his desire to win had not dimmed.
While he received a yellow card for his verbal barrage when Haaland’s late goal was disallowed, a loss would have been cruel on a Brighton team that has had the finest season in the club’s history.
Outstanding game. Congratulations to Brighton for earning a spot in the Europa League, remarked Guardiola. “We behaved and proved why we were the champions against that team 48 hours after consuming all the alcohol in Manchester,” the player said.
In a fun match, Brighton and City were evenly matched. Brighton had 20 goal attempts to City’s 13, with seven of them being successful.
Nevertheless, even with their attention now fixed on two of the most important games in club history, City still had a powerful offensive presence thanks to Haaland’s rampaging forward.
When he had a one-on-one opportunity to score, the Norwegian appeared to be on his way to doing so, but Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele denied him.
Having been let free by Riyad Mahrez’s pass the next time, he maneuvered around Steele and picked out Foden, whose shot reached the bottom corner.
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