Manchester City beat Brighton on penalties after 2-2 without having practised penalties

Penalties without preparation

Manchester City reached the League Cup quarter-finals, beating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regular time at the Etihad. This was reported by AFP. The decisive factor was backup goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, who saved shots from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk.

Course of the match and the shootout

Malik Yalcouye opened the scoring for Brighton in the first half, Mateo Kovacic equalised before the break, Georginio Rutter put the Seagulls back in front after the interval, and Vitor Reis converted Cherki's free kick, sending the match to a penalty shootout. Kovacic missed his kick, but Phil Foden, Enzo Fernandez, Jeremy Doku and Ryan Cherki scored. After the match, Maresca noted the contribution of substitute Doku: 'I'm not sure he changed the game, but he definitely made an impact.'

Context and rotation

Head coach Enzo Maresca, who replaced Pep Guardiola in the summer, admitted that the team had never practised penalties since his arrival: 'Honestly, since I've been here, we've never practised penalties.' He had no regrets about resting Haaland, Donnarumma, Dias, Anderson and Guardiola, making nine changes, and singled out Rulli for praise for his composure and his play when building up from the back. The win was a response to City's first Premier League defeat of the season — on Saturday the team lost to Aston Villa, ending their 100% start to the campaign. AFP also recalls that the club is awaiting a verdict on its appeal against being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules: if unsuccessful, a substantial points deduction is possible. In the quarter-finals, City will host third-division side Bradford City.