Manchester City are into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals after a night of pure chaos at the Etihad Stadium. The holders came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion, then won the penalty shootout 4-3 as goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli saved the visitors' last two spot-kicks.
It finished 2-2 after 90 minutes, with Malick Yalcouye and Georginio Rutter twice putting Brighton ahead and Mateo Kovacic and Vitor Reis twice hauling City level, as Manchester City reported at full-time. Rulli then decided the shootout, and Enzo Maresca's much-changed side — who had rested Erling Haaland and five other stars in the build-up to this tie — squeezed into the last eight.
Twice behind, twice level
Brighton struck first on the half-hour. Rutter turned provider and Yalcouye converted smartly to silence the Etihad, with City's goalkeeper claiming an offside that never came. City grew into the game and levelled five minutes before the break: Phil Foden teed up Kovacic on the edge of the box and the Croatian steered a low shot expertly into the bottom corner.
The second half was barely a minute old when Brighton led again. Jaouen Hadjam prodded the ball through and Rutter slotted home to restore the advantage almost immediately after the restart. City pushed, with Jeremy Doku causing problems down the left, and the pressure told with just under 20 minutes left: Foden won a free-kick, Rayan Cherki whipped it in and Reis flicked it home — the young Brazilian defender's first goal for the club.
The closing minutes were mayhem, as the Flashscore live blog recorded. Maxim De Cuyper hit the post from a corner, Mats Wieffer rattled the bar, and Yankuba Minteh missed a huge chance with almost the last kick of the match. A record Etihad domestic cup crowd of 55,345 held its breath — and the tie went to penalties.
Rulli settles the shootout
The shootout swung both ways. Foden, Enzo Fernandez and Doku scored for City and Pascal Gross, Matt O'Riley and De Cuyper replied for Brighton, before Kovacic — so good across the 90 minutes — missed to give the visitors the edge. It lasted one kick. Rulli saved from Yasin Ayari, Cherki put City back in front, and when Lewis Dunk stepped up for Brighton's fifth penalty, Rulli saved again to spark wild celebrations. Four-three on penalties, and the holders march on.
So what: the holders are alive, just
City join a quarter-final line-up that already includes Bradford City, Tuesday night's giant-killers, and Maresca will take real encouragement from how his rotated side refused to lose: no Haaland, no problem — eventually. But Brighton will kick themselves. Fabian Hurzeler's team led twice, hit the woodwork twice in the closing minutes and still went out; that is two cup heartbreaks in Manchester they will feel they should have won. For City, the defence of their trophy now runs through the last eight — and nights like this are exactly why holders believe their name is on it.
Beyond the Final Whistle: this was not control, it was survival — and survival is a habit champions keep. City were outplayed for spells, rescued by a 20-year-old defender's first goal and a goalkeeper who saved his best for the very last kicks of the night. Brighton played the better football and lost anyway, which is the oldest Carabao Cup lesson there is: in a shootout, the hero is never the best team, only the calmest one.
Was Rulli the man of the match, or did Brighton throw this tie away? Let us know in the comments.
