Man City facing 'nine finals' to clinch Champions League spot, admits Gonzalez

The champions dropped two more points against Brighton on Saturday. 

CHASING PACK: Brighton and Hove Albion's Diego Gomez (centre left) battles for the ball with Manchester City's Savinho (left), Nico Gonzalez (centre right) and Omar Marmoush. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.

Manchester City 2 Brighton 2 

Nico Gonzalez says Manchester City face "nine finals" to avoid missing out on Champions League qualification for the first time in 15 years.

After losing to fellow top five contenders Nottingham Forest, City dropped two more points to another rival chasing the glittering prize of European club football with all the financial and prestige benefits that goes with it.

And it underlines Manchester City's decline from their previous high standards and Brighton's progress that manager Fabian Hurzeler was left disappointed despite earning the club's first Premier League point at the Etihad.

Had either Yankuba Minteh or Carlos Baleba put away golden second-half chances the Seagulls would have returned to the south coast with their first ever win in the blue half of Manchester.

Pep Guardiola's fallen champions are a team in transition. It was significant that two of their shining stars of recent seasons, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne played only a bit-part as substitutes while Jack Grealish was left on the bench again to underline why he was omitted from Thomas Tuchel's first England squad.

Gonzalez, one of the players brought in by Pep Guardiola in the January transfer window to re-energise the team, says they cannot use talk of transition as an excuse.

"We've talked a lot about this, that there are nine finals left," said the defensive midfielder who has the unenviable job of filling the shoes of the injured Ballon D'Or winner Rodri. "Every game is a final for us.

"We played against Brighton as if it was a final. We gave everything and that's the most important thing. The intensity and the attitude from everyone was perfect and I'm pretty sure if we continue to play like this so if we continue to play like this, wins are going to come.

"I don't care if the talk on the outside of the dressing room is about transition. Every year, in every game you have to win and give everything. Today you could see that every player ran and fought for every ball as if it was the last game of the season.

“It was tough because Brighton are a great team. They played really well, they have a lot of talent, a lot of young players and they showed why they are fighting for the Champions League places."

City certainly gave everything in an entertaining and fiercely-competitive game but they couldn't get the better of a team whose pace, physicality and technical ability matched theirs.

They missed some good chances, particularly in the first half, while their ever-changing back four never looked secure against a Brighton team who looked dangerous every time they went forward.

Twice the Seagulls fought back after falling behind. Erling Haaland early penalty gave him yet another record - the fastest player to reach 100 'goal involvements' in Premier League history. The Norwegian - who has 84 goals and 16 assists - has done it in just 94 games beating Alan Shearer who took 100 games.

But that was cancelled out by Pervis Estupinan's well-struck direct free-kick. Omar Marmoush, another Janiuary arrival, restored City's lead with a fine shot but an own goal by another new boy, Abdukodir Khusanov, three minutes after the break brought Brighton level again.

And despite City's pressure that saw Gonzalez hit the post with a header, the Seagulls should have won it. Minteh somehow failed to connect with a Kaoru Mitmoa's inviting cross when he looked certain to score while in a similar situation Baleba did connect with Jaoa Pedro's pass but lifted his shot over the bar from 12 yards with only Stefan Ortega to beat.

Herzeler, the youngest manager in the Premier League, was left frustrated despite ending Brighton's run of 10 successive defeats in City's backyard stretching back to 1982 when they got a draw at Maine Road in the old First Division.

"Overall, I am happy with the performance, but not happy with the result," he said. "It is clear that we should have left the pitch as winners. When we analyse this game and we will be disappointed about the draw.

"We gave away goals in a very cheap way and we have to improve. The fact that we came back twice and we had big opportunities to go for the win is a very positive one. We showed our identity and that's how we want to play."

English football's UEFA "co-efficient" means it is almost certain that the top five, rather than the usual top four, will qualify for the Champion League - and that is certainly a huge boost for inconsistent City.

But with the title race effectively over and the relegation places all but settled, the scramble for those positions will be the real focus of interest in the final two months of the season and City cannot afford to miss out.

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ortega 6; Lewis 5, Khusanov 6, Dias 6, Gvardiol 6; Gonzalez 7, Gundogan 6; Savinho 6 (Silva 58, 5, Foden 75, 5), Marmoush 8 (De Bruyne 86, 5), Doku 7; Haaland 6.

Unused substitutes: Carson, Kovacic, Grealish, Reis, Nunes, McAtee.

Goal: Haaland pen 11 Marmoush 39.

Booked; Savinho, Doku.

Brighton (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen 7; Hinshelwood 7, Van Hecke 7, Webster 7, Estupinan 7; Baleba 7 (Wieffer 87, 5), Gomez 7 (Ayari 75, 5);, Minteh 7 (Gruda 83, 5), Rutter 6 (Welbeck 75, 5), Mitoma 8 (Adringa 83, 5); Pedro 7.

Unused substitutes: Rushworth, Cashin, Knight, Slater.

Goal: Estipinan 22, Khusanov own goal 48..

Booked; Mitoma, Baleba, Pedro.

Referee: Simon Hooper 7.