Man City exits look inevitable after Brighton exploit Pep Guardiola issue

Not for the first time this season, Fabian Delph came to mind. As well as being a useful option for a time in Pep Guardiola's all-conquering side, the former England midfielder infamously called out his teammates for not doing the basics.

It sounds better to imagine it spoken in Delph's West Yorkshire drawl, but it gets to the heart of what is required at Manchester City. For all the manager's reputation for intricate football, really he wants all of his players to do the basics to a level that Jake Humphrey would approve of.

Too many games this season have been defined by individual or collective mistakes that have undermined the performance. Saturday's 2-2 draw with Brighton is in a lot of company.

Brighton won the reverse fixture when City's slump was just starting to take hold and came into this game in terrific form and just a point off the Blues with the longest winning run in the league, so they were not to be underestimated. The pressure they put City under in the opening minutes and how close they came to scoring when Kaoru Mitoma had a goal disallowed for a perceived foul backed that up.

However, City responded as good sides do thanks in no small part to their January signings. Ruben Dias this week described them as 'starving' for success and it was Omar Marmoush who first made a difference, producing a driving run to get the Etihad on its feet immediately after the disallowed goal and then urging a flat crowd to make more noise.

The lift worked, and after dogged tackling from Nico Gonzalez to win the ball back around the centre circle Savinho and Erling Haaland found Marmoush in the penalty area and he was taken out by Adam Webster for a penalty. Following a lengthy delay where Brighton keeper Bart