Pep Guardiola says Manchester City cannot think about winning the Premier League title if they do not win games, after a third consecutive draw.

City were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, with Kaoru Mitoma’s second-half goal cancelling out Erling Haaland’s first-half penalty.

Guardiola’s side have now dropped nine points from winning positions in the top-flight this season, with over half of those dropped points coming against Brighton (five).

It is the second season in a row that they have dropped five points from winning positions against the Seagulls.

City missed the chance to close the gap to Arsenal to three points, and instead sit five back from the Gunners, who face Liverpool on Thursday.

“Of course, if we don’t win games, we cannot think about things,” Guardiola said of the title race.

“We had an incredible result in Nottingham Forest, a tough game, and after we played three games and analysing how we played? We played really good!

“It’s quite obvious [this season is different to the last one]. It’s the way we play, and the energy we have.

“It’s simple, the energy and the way we play will create the chances that we create, expected goals.

“It’s just we don’t put the ball in the net. That’s all. It’s not just one player, it’s a lot.”

Haaland’s effort was actually the 35,000th Premier League goal, scored four years and 131 days after the 30,000th, which was netted by Chris Wood for Burnley against Leeds United in August 2021.

It was also the Norwegian’s 150th strike for City in all competitions, on his 173rd appearance – that is 28 games faster than any other player has reached the landmark for a Premier League club (Alan Shearer, 201).

But other than the penalty, City struggled to break Brighton down. They have a total of 22 shots (six on target), worth 2.4 expected goals (xG), compared to six attempts from Fabian Hurzeler’s side, who created just 0.8 xG.

“I liked a lot the way we played, a lot!” Guardiola added.

“Many, many new players, and many good things. But I loved a lot, the many good things, but we don’t score goals.

“It’s too many clear chances, and it’s not just one player, two players, three players, it’s all the people up front – we created a lot.

“And unfortunately, we could not score, and scoring goals is part of doing your job.

“We played exceptionally well. We did very, very good things. Defensively, the team is incredibly committed, defending really good with everyone.

“But we created a lot of chances in the six-yard box, and we could not score. Not just [this game], not just one player, it’s everyone!”

City also lost Savinho to injury in the 51st minute, but Guardiola does not expect the winger to be out for the rest of the season.

“Long,” he said of Savinho’s potential lay-off. “Long is long, but it isn’t a century!

“Month and a half, two months. But he will be back.”

City are set to bolster their attack this week, though, with Antoine Semenyo expected to complete his move from Bournemouth in the coming days.