Cherki and Rulli rescue Manchester City in wild Brighton cup tie

"A breathless tie, breathless teams. Both managers hopped and jumped, right on the edge, right on the cusp of glory and disaster in equal measure," Jack Gaughan wrote for dailymail.com after Manchester City edged Brighton in the Manchester City vs Brighton tie.

That summed it up well enough. City and Brighton finished 2-2 before City won 4-3 on penalties, and the night turned on two individual interventions, Rayan Cherki's late equaliser and Gerónimo Rulli's shootout saves.

Cherki's intervention changed the tie

Brighton had already shown this would not be a routine away win. Mateo Kovačić put City ahead in the 40th minute, but Georginio Rutter restored Brighton's lead in the 47th and left City chasing the game again.

Cherki's response came in the 72nd minute. Foot Mercato reported it as a free kick that was deflected by Vitor Reis, and that is the safer description here, even if some coverage treated it as a direct strike. Either way, it was the moment that dragged City back from another cup exit.

The broader point is that Cherki is already making a mark in this competition. He now has 1 goal and 1 assist in 2 League Cup appearances this season, and his influence in this tie went beyond the goal itself. His 7.7 rating was the best individual number attached to the decisive players in the game.

Rulli finished the job in the shootout

Once the tie reached penalties, the momentum shifted again. City converted through Phil Foden, Enzo Fernández, Jeremy Doku and Cherki, which was enough because Rulli took over at the end of the sequence.

The goalkeeper saved Brighton's final two penalties, first from Yasin Ayari and then from Lewis Dunk. For a player whose main statistical note in this competition is simply 2 appearances, that was a sharp reminder that cup ties are often decided by one stretch rather than a full 90 minutes.

His rating in the match sat at 6.0 when rounded, which fits what the game looked like. Rulli was not the defining figure in open play. He became the decisive one when the shootout arrived.

Brighton made City work for it

City are first in the Premier League, but this match did not support any lazy idea that they strolled through. Brighton came into the tie third in the league and played like a serious side, not a supporting cast in somebody else's cup run.

That context matters to the result. Brighton took the lead twice, forced penalties and pushed City to the edge before losing 4-3 in the shootout. Fabian Hürzeler's team will not take much comfort from that, but the performance gave the scoreline its proper shape.

Enzo Maresca got through the round, though not in serene fashion. The lasting image is still clear: Cherki giving City a way back in, then Rulli closing the door when Brighton stepped up for the last two kicks.