Brighton’s Julio Enciso celebrates after scoring his aspect’s first purpose throughout the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City on the AMEX stadium in Brighton, England, Wednesday, May 24, 2023.| Photo Credit: AP

Julio Enciso’s beautiful long-range strike secured Brighton’s qualification for the Europa League in a 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Wednesday.

The Paraguay worldwide unleashed an unstoppable effort from round 25 meters to even the rating after Phil Foden had fired 2022/23 Premier League champion City forward at Amex Stadium.

Some extent means Brighton is assured to complete sixth, its highest-ever ultimate place in English soccer’s high flight.

It marks an impressive first season in cost for supervisor Roberto de Zerbi, who solely took over from Graham Potter in September after the previous Brighton boss left for Chelsea.

“It’s a fantastic goal, we achieved an incredible target,” De Zerbi mentioned. “Man City is the best team in the world. For us it was a very tough game. We deserve the point. We deserve the Europa League.”

The membership confronted an unsure future on the time however has gone on to flourish beneath the Italian, who additionally led the workforce to the semifinals of the FA Cup this season.

Sixth place beats Brighton’s earlier highest end of ninth, which it achieved beneath Potter final yr.

“You never know in the early part of the season what may happen when you hire a new coach,” Brighton chairman Tony Bloom mentioned. “Fortunately we hired the perfect man. The players have taken to him so magnificently. His motivational skills, tactical skills and getting the best out of our players has been absolutely superb.”

The draw ended City’s 12-game successful streak within the league, which had seen Pep Guardiola’s workforce overhaul long-time chief Arsenal on the high and win a fifth title six years.

With a 3rd league championship already wrapped up, City had little to play for apart from bettering its factors whole.

“The game we played, 48 hours after we drank all the alcohol in Manchester, 48 hours later we behaved and we showed why we were the champions against that team,” Guardiola joked in reference to City’s title celebrations on Sunday.

Having rested quite a few his star gamers towards Chelsea on Sunday, Guardiola recalled Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne to his beginning lineup, with John Stones, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva additionally again.

Haaland twice had possibilities to open the scoring earlier than turning supplier for Foden to place City forward within the twenty fifth minute.

At the opposite finish, Danny Welbeck had already hit the crossbar with a free-kick.

The equaliser got here from Enciso and it was a strike worthy of sending his workforce to the heights of the Europa League as he launched a right-footed shot into the highest nook within the thirty eighth.

Haaland thought he had scored his 53rd purpose of the season with a late header, however it was dominated out by VAR after he was adjudged to have pulled Levi Colwill’s shirt beforehand.