In Thursday's (25th) dawn Premier League clash, Brighton hosted title favorites Manchester City in a 1-1 draw, which not only ended City's 11-game winning streak in the league, but also secured Brighton's best-ever 6th place ranking and a good start to next season's Europa League campaign. Brighton almost overpowered City in this match, with 19-year-old youngster Ansell scoring a world-beating goal from 30 yards out to earn a huge round of applause from the fans as he was touted as a strong contender for this season's Premier League Golden Ball award.
Even though City had already locked up the title, they still sent out their main players such as Aynin Chalant and Chiyun Dibny to play. Brighton, who had just qualified for Europe, were also in desperate need of a point to secure a place in the Europa League. The two teams went back and forth, creating plenty of chances to attack. In only 25 minutes, Enninchalant broke through the defense and passed the ball to an unmarked Phil Cotton, who scored easily. Bailiton then went on the attack on a number of occasions as well, including a shot on goal caused by a turnover by Mitani Kaoru.
Bailiton had 18 shots on goal throughout the match, and City fans couldn't help but applaud Paraguay's 19-year-old starlet Anssu in the 38th minute when he broke away from the ball in midfield, took a step forward, and cannonballed into the dead center of the net from 30 yards away from goal. City's goal in the closing stages of the game was ruled out after a foul by Ainin Chalantes, and the two sides ended up in a 1-1 draw.
With one round left in the league, Brighton are four points clear of seventh-placed Aston Villa and have managed to lock up a place in the Europa League. This was the first time since its inception in 121 years that Whiteleyton entered the European competition. The home side played the Europa League tune after the match. Leader Dissa said after the game, "It's always a tough game against Manchester City, but we played well and this one point and Europa League qualification are the result of our efforts."
