Manchester City penalties after Brighton shoot-out win

"To be honest, since I’ve been here we never practised penalties." That was Enzo Maresca's most striking line after Manchester City beat Brighton 4-3 on spot-kicks to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. The tie finished 2-2 at the Etihad Stadium after City came from behind twice, and Maresca had made nine changes before the game.

Maresca's penalty admission

The admission changes how the win reads. This was not a side leaning on a rehearsed shoot-out routine, because Maresca said penalties had never been worked on under him. Instead, the night turned on how a rotated team handled a late tie and then a shoot-out it had not specifically prepared for.

Maresca still backed the takers. "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," he said. Mateo Kovačić had scored a strong enough mark in normal time, with an 8.16 rating, before missing from the spot.

Gerónimo Rulli made four saves in 90 minutes for Brighton, while Georginio Rutter still produced the visitors' best attacking display with an 8.48 rating. Jérémy Doku also made an impact off the bench for City, and Rayan Cherki was involved in the move that forced penalties.

The rotated side still held up

Maresca's wider point was about readiness. He said several players who do not always get many minutes were ready when called upon, and he praised Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden, Kovačić, Vitor Reis, Rico Lewis and Nico O'Reilly as players who answered that test.

The 4-3 shoot-out win matters because of the context around it. City were without Erling Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Josko Gvardiol, and they still got through a tie that Brighton pushed all the way to penalties.

Manchester City now move into the quarter-finals, with the Brighton win adding one more tidy cup result to a night that began with a rotated line-up and ended with an unexpected admission about how little penalty work had gone into it.