Manchester City advanced to the last eight of the Carabao Cup with a penalty shootout victory over Brighton after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad. Enzo Maresca's side recovered from conceding twice to force the decisive shootout, with Rayan Cherki among the standout performers.
Nine Changes and Early Setbacks
Maresca made nine changes from Saturday's defeat at Villa Park, giving five of his best players the night off to manage workloads and naming several others only as substitutes. Brighton's opener prompted complaints of offside, but Mateo Kovacic ensured the game was level at the break.
Brighton struck again at the start of the second half, and City needed Vitor Reis to level when Rayan Cherki's free-kick hit the defender and went in. Neither side could find a winner before penalties, resulting in the decisive shootout.
Player Ratings from the Manchester Evening News
Rulli: Could do little with the two goals he conceded, although his distribution wasn't always wise. 6
Lewis: A good performance apart from the bit where Brighton attacked and scored down the left and he was nowhere to be seen. 6
Reis: Solid enough with everything he was asked to do defensively and he earned his luck with the second goal. 7
Guehi: One or two nervy moments but otherwise he had a much calmer game than he managed at Villa Park. 6
O'Reilly: Still feeling his way into this season and played a hybrid role that he didn't look fully confident in. 6
Bouaddi: Did well to keep the ball in tight spaces and unfortunate to be booked, which likely resulted in him being whipped off at half-time. 7
Kovacic: Took his goal very well and ended with a net positive with his marauding runs up the pitch that had mixed success. 7
Cherki: Gave the ball away a number of times but also produced moments of quality that nobody else could - and what a fifth penalty. 8
Foden: Came into the game and produced some strong driving runs as well as the assist for Kovacic. 7
Allan: His pace was useful for a few moves, but he was lacking strength up against his defender that limited any progress. 6
Samba: Struggled to get into the game for most of the half but his biggest involvement helped bring the Kovacic goal. 6
Substitutes Make an Impact
Ait-Nouri (for Bouaddi, 46): Did well to shut Brighton out and help with the attack. 7
McAidoo (for Samba, 46): Couldn't get going and there was a poor offside late on. 6
Doku (for Allan, 61): His introduction made a real difference to the momentum of the game. 7
Khusanov (for Lewis, 75): A wild ball booted out for a corner that nearly cost City. 6
Fernandez (for O'Reilly, 86): Good penalty. 6
Not used: Bettinelli, Braithwaite, Ndiaye, Oliver
