Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes took another blow after a 1-1 draw with Brighton
ByJAMES ROBSON AP soccer writer
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes took another blow after a 1-1 draw with Brighton on Wednesday.
Not even Erling Haaland’s 150th goal for the club was enough to stop City from dropping points at home for the second time in as many games and recording a third-straight draw, with Kaoru Mitoma equalizing for Brighton in the second half.
Aston Villa also missed out on the chance to move within three points of first-place Arsenal after a goalless draw at Crystal Palace, and new Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior watched on from the stands as his new team was beaten 2-1 by Fulham.
Manchester United’s first game since firing Ruben Amorim on Monday ended in a 2-2 draw at relegation-fighting Burnley.
Antoine Semenyo struck a late winner in Bournemouth’s 3-2 victory over Tottenham in what could be his last game before a widely anticipated move to City.
For the second time is as many games City blew a lead at home to ease the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the standings.
After the 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Sunday Pep Guardiola’s team was held again, this time by Brighton.
Haaland’s 41st-minute penalty put City ahead at halftime. But after Mitoma’s equalizer on the hour, Haaland was guilty of wasting a golden chance to score the winner when he shot straight at Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen late on.
A run of three draws also included a 0-0 with Sunderland on New Year’s Day.
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Second-placed City is five points behind Arsenal, having played a game more. The gap to the top could be extended to eight points if Arsenal beats Liverpool on Thursday.
Villa is third and level on points with City after a 0-0 draw at Palace — the second time in three games that Unai Emery’s team has dropped points.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
