Hurzeler: Mitoma can be a ´game changer´ for Brighton

Fabian Hurzeler hailed Kaoru Mitoma as a “game changer” for Brighton after his goal salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw with Manchester City.

He netted in the 60th minute, drilling into the far corner from the edge of the area following a counter-attack, to cancel out Erling Haaland’s penalty late in the first half.

Mitoma’s equaliser was just the second goal scored by a Japanese player against City in the Premier League, after Shinji Okazaki for Leicester City in May 2017, also at the Etihad Stadium.

The forward led his team for shots (two) and touches in the opposition box (three) and won possession a joint-high five times for the visitors.

And Hurzeler believes he can play a key role for the Seagulls in the second half of the season.

“He can be a game-changer for us,” Hurzeler said.

“We need to push him so he’s 100%, but in the second half, he showed he is trying to get back on track as quickly as possible.”

Hurzeler remains unbeaten against Guardiola’s City in the Premier League (W2 D2), becoming the first-ever manager to avoid defeat in each of his first four top-flight meetings with the Spaniard.

The German was particularly impressed with the belief his side showed to get a result against the team second in the table.

“We started the game really strongly, we created a lot of chances and should have scored at least one goal,” Hurzeler said.

“Then the goal for them came out of nowhere, and that changed the dynamic a little bit.

“At the start of the second half, we gave them chances through our own individual errors, but we didn’t give up.

“We always had belief, and after making it 1-1, we had more big chances.

“We made too many mistakes to win the game, so that’s why we have to be happy with a draw. It was an up-and-down game.

“But the most important thing was the chances we created. We stuck together as a team and had belief that we could get something from this game.”