Manchester City book their place in the EFL Cup quarter-finals after defeating Brighton 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in normal time, with goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli emerging as the hero by saving two spot-kicks.
Brighton took the lead through Malick Yalcouye, who turned in an effort from Georginio Rutter after a well-worked attack down the right flank. City responded five minutes before half-time when Mateo Kovacic curled a superb finish into the net off the left post after receiving a pass from Phil Foden.
The Seagulls regained the advantage just 77 seconds into the second half, with Rutter sweeping home a cutback from Jaouen Hadjam. Rutter later came close to extending Brighton’s lead, but Rulli produced an excellent save to push his curling effort onto the crossbar.
City eventually found their equaliser in the 72nd minute when Vitor Reis inadvertently turned Rayan Cherki’s powerful free-kick past Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele, forcing the contest into a penalty shoot-out.
Both teams converted their first three penalties before Steele saved Kovacic’s effort. However, Rulli kept City in the contest by denying Yasin Ayari before later stopping Lewis Dunk’s attempt to seal a 4-3 shoot-out victory for the holders.
Despite making nine changes to the team that lost to Aston Villa last weekend, City relied on Cherki’s creativity throughout the encounter. The Frenchman recorded a team-high six shots, created four chances and completed 23 passes in the final third.
City’s victory extends their impressive EFL Cup run, as they have now won or progressed from their last eight matches in the competition, matching their best-ever winning run in the tournament.
Attention now turns to the Premier League, where City and Brighton are set to meet again at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.