Brighton 1-1 Manchester City: Seagulls earn Europa League spot for first time

Brighton held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw securing Europa League football for next season. The question going into the match was whether Pep Guardiola was going to risk his star players with the F.A. Cup and Champions League finals in the coming weeks. The City coach decided to play a mixed team of first-team and youth players. Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne started alongside the likes of 18 year-old Rico Lewis and Stefan Ortega who were handed back-to-back starts by Pep Guardiola

As expected the Amex was bouncing and the players responded to the crowd by putting on a show. Not a minute went by in the match where the stadium was silent. For the full 90 the Brighton fans were singing and chanting so the team could not only hold on for the point but also try to find a winning goal. First-half goals from Phil Foden and Julio Enciso were enough to share the points. Manchester City started the match well, dominating possession and playing plenty of passes until Brighton upped their press and the champions felt the pressure. Conceding chance after chance it was clear that City were struggling to play how they wanted to play. A Foden goal helped to take the edge off until Julio Ensico picked up the ball from 30 yards out and launched one into the top corner to put Brighton level.

The second-half started as the first-half finished with Brighton putting on the pressure and trying to find the second goal to confirm their place in the Europa League. Chance after chance went by, and Brighton just couldn’t find the back of the net. In the 78th minute Brighton hearts sank when Haaland headed the ball into the empty net, until VAR got involved and chopped the goal off for a shirt pull on Levi Colwell by Haaland. When the final whistle blew the players hugged each other while the fans sang and cheered.

After earning the hard fought point Brighton will feel relaxed heading into the final game knowing European football is secured for next season.

(Image via The Independent)