Manchester City beat Brighton on penalties to reach League Cup quarter-finals

Manchester City secured a place in the League Cup quarter-finals after beating Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2 on penalties following a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

Brighton took the lead after 30 minutes when Malick Yalcouye found the net. Manchester City responded before half-time, with Mateo Kovacic equalising in the 40th minute.

The visitors regained their advantage two minutes after the interval through Georginio Rutter, but Vitor Reis levelled for Manchester City after 72 minutes to force a shoot-out.

Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk missed from the spot for Brighton, while Kovacic was Manchester City’s only unsuccessful penalty taker.

Manchester City will face Bradford City in the last eight. The other quarter-final ties are Crystal Palace against Sunderland, Liverpool against Bournemouth, and either Everton or Newcastle against Fleetwood Town.

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca said his side had not practised penalties recently, but praised the players who took them.

“To be honest, since I’ve been here we never practiced penalties,” he said.

“We’re very happy with the five, even Mateo. It always happens, the one that scored during the 90 minutes, and then misses the penalty.”

Maresca made nine changes to his usual starting line-up, including in goal, with Geronimo Rulli replacing Gianluigi Donnarumma.

“I was happy with the way we planned the game, with the rotation, and especially I was very, very, very happy with the ones that were playing,” added Maresca.

He also assessed Rulli’s performance, saying: “Apart from the penalties, I think overall he was good, especially in the build-up. He also made a good save.”

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler felt his side had created enough opportunities to win the match but was unhappy with the circumstances of the goals they conceded.

“We lost in a shoot-out. We had enough chances to win the game but the goals we conceded were very unlucky,” he said.

The two sides will meet again in the Premier League on Saturday, giving Brighton an immediate opportunity to respond.

“They had the luck today. We have to reset. We have a great chance on Saturday to take revenge,” Hurzeler added.

He said Brighton would not single out Ayari or Dunk for their missed penalties, emphasizing the collective nature of the result.

“We will never blame players who miss chances or miss penalties. It is a team sport and we stick together. I saw a team who tried hard and a team who gave everything, also out of possession.”