Rulli saves two penalties as Manchester City beat Brighton 4-3 in Carabao Cup shootout

Shootout decides a tie that swung twice

Manchester City advanced to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, 28 October, after a 2-2 draw with Brighton at the Etihad Stadium was settled 4-3 on penalties. The holders had trailed twice in the match before the shootout. Gerónimo Rulli, the stand-in goalkeeper, made the decisive saves, stopping Yasin Ayari's fourth kick and then Lewis Dunk's fifth. Brighton's Jason Steele had earlier kept out a Mateo Kovacic penalty, and Kovacic later missed one in the shootout.

Goals and turning points

Brighton took the lead in the 30th minute, when Malick Yalcouyé finished from close range after a cross from Georginio Rutter. Five minutes before half-time Kovacic struck from long range, beating Steele into the bottom corner to level the score. Rutter put the visitors back in front just after the restart, finishing first-time from a cutback by Jaouen Hadjam, and he also hit the side-netting and the bar in the match. Rayan Cherki's low free-kick was then diverted into the net by Vitor Reis, which sent the tie to penalties.

Rotation and form

Maresca made nine changes to the side beaten 2-1 at Aston Villa, the first Premier League defeat of the season for City according to The Guardian. Brighton made seven changes for the first of two meetings between the clubs in four days. Erling Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rúben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Josko Gvardiol were not involved at all, after being given brief breaks. Brighton's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool was only their second loss in the competition, so both sides arrived having lost rarely.

Other Carabao Cup results

Bournemouth beat Aston Villa 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium, with Amine Adli scoring in the seventh minute and Lewis Cook adding a second early in the second half. Alvaro Rodriguez sealed the win, and it is Bournemouth's first Carabao Cup quarter-final in eight seasons. Crystal Palace beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage, with Eddie Nketiah's first-half goal easing pressure on manager Pierre Sage. Sunderland also progressed, according to the Independent's report of the night's results.

What comes next

City and Brighton meet again in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, 31 October, the second of the two meetings in four days. City will learn their quarter-final opponent once the Liverpool and Chelsea tie on Wednesday night has concluded.