Geronimo Rulli Saves Penalties as Manchester City Edge Brighton
Manchester City secured a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night, defeating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium, as reported by Sky Sports. The holders advanced to set up a December tie against Bradford City. The match turned on a dramatic penalty shootout where City goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli denied both Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk. Mateo Kovacic missed City’s first spot-kick, but conversions from Phil Foden, Jérémy Doku, and a winning strike from Rayan Cherki carried Enzo Maresca’s side through. City progressed after twice battling back to a 2-2 draw against the Seagulls.
First-Half Goals From Malick Yalcouye and Mateo Kovacic
Brighton opened the scoring in the first half when Malick Yalcouye finished a slick team move. The linesman kept his flag down despite suspicions of offside on the last line, and with VAR not in operation, the goal stood. Yalcouye’s instinctive finish beat Rulli, coming after referee Andy Madley waved away a penalty claim when Rico Lewis was upended by Yalcouye in the box.
Mateo Kovacic brought the hosts level before the break, guiding a precision strike from the edge of the area inside the post past goalkeeper Jason Steele.
Second-Half Deflections and Late Drama
Brighton reclaimed the lead less than 90 seconds after the restart. Jaouen Hadjam provided a pull-back that Georginio Rutter met with a first-time finish to beat Rulli. As the match stretched, City found another equalizer in the 73rd minute. Rayan Cherki struck a free-kick that took a deflection off Vitor Reis, giving Steele no chance of saving to make it 2-2. Both teams missed opportunities to win the game in regulation time before heading to the penalty spot.
Manager Reaction and Upcoming Premier League Rematch
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca defended his squad rotation after the match. “Brighton are in a brilliant moment. They score many goals every game so we knew it was going to be tough,” Maresca said, according to Sky Sports. “We could have done better defensively. “We had enough chances to win this game,” Hurzeler told Sky Sports. “The goals we conceded are very unlucky, that’s football, they had the luck on their side.” Fabian Hürzeler also stated: “We have a great chance on Saturday to take revenge.” Maresca added that not sleeping in your own bed is not an advantage, but noted that they will go there with full energy.
The two teams meet again on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium, with Sports Mole reporting that City’s Matheus Nunes remains a major doubt due to a muscle issue, while Antoine Semenyo is sidelined with a knee injury.”
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