Manchester City missed out on a return to the Premier League's top four after twice giving away a lead in a 2-2 draw with Brighton.
Goals from Erling Haaland and Omar Marmouche were cancelled out by a superb free-kick from Pervis Estupinan and an own goal from Abdukodir Khusanov to add to the disappointment for the champions at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Nico Gonzalez hit the post as Pep Guardiola's side looked for a winner but Brighton, who have never won away to City, also missed a chance when Carlos Baleba fired over the bar.
A sign of City's poor performance was their squad selection. Ederson, who came under fire after last week's defeat at Nottingham Forest, was replaced by Stefan Ortega, while Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden were all left on the bench.
Brighton opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Kaoru Mitoma scored from a Jack Hinshelwood cross, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul on Ortega.
City responded first when Brighton lost possession and Haaland passed to Marmouche. The Egyptian, moving inside, was brought down by Adam Webster, resulting in a clear penalty, which Haaland converted into the bottom corner.
It was the Norwegian's 84th Premier League goal in 94 appearances, which along with 16 assists made him the first player to reach 100 goals in less than 100 games.
City's lead was short-lived as Estupinan took aim after Georginio Rutter had been brought down by Nico Gonzalez outside the area and the Ecuadorian fired brilliantly past the wall, leaving Ortega to watch the ball go wide of the post.
City responded when Savinho forced Bart Verbruggen's shot away with his feet and created further chances for Haaland and Marmus.
The pressure took its toll
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
