“Of course, if you don’t win games, we cannot think about these things,” Guardiola said. “That is the reality.”

Erling Haaland put City ahead late in the first half, converting a penalty for his 150th goal for the club after VAR intervened to overturn an initial decision. However, the Norwegian striker later missed several chances to seal the game, with Bernardo Silva and Rayan Cherki also failing to make City’s dominance count.

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“I love a lot the way we played,” Guardiola said. “We did many good things, but we don’t score goals. There are too many clear chances.”

Brighton punished City’s wastefulness in the second half when Kaoru Mitoma scored his first goal since September, exploiting defensive issues that have been worsened by injuries at the back.

Guardiola was blunt in his assessment of the problem. “It is not just one or two players,” he said. “It is all the players up front. They create a lot, but unfortunately we couldn’t score. Scoring goals is part of the job, and that is why we didn’t win.”

The City manager was booked during the game after angrily protesting when the penalty decision initially went against his side. He later defended his reaction.

“I was complaining why it was no penalty,” Guardiola said. “And I was right.”

Guardiola also played down speculation linking City with a move for Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, despite reports the club have met his release clause of sixty-five million pounds.

“I don’t know,” Guardiola said. “I don’t know what is going to happen in the transfer window.”

With Arsenal able to extend their lead further, Guardiola knows City’s margin for error is gone. “The result is the result,” he said. “One point for them, one point for us. That is what it is.”