Photo: via Wikimedia Commons.
Manchester City reached the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night, beating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium, according to TNT Sports and 7m Sport.
City boss Enzo Maresca made nine changes after Saturday's loss at Aston Villa, resting Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Gianluigi Donnarumma, according to 7m Sport. Brighton went in front after 30 minutes when Malick Yalcouye steered Georginio Rutter's shot past Geronimo Rulli from five yards.
Mateo Kovacic hauled City level 20 minutes later with a curling finish from 25 yards, according to the report, but Rutter restored Brighton's lead two minutes after half-time, slotting home from Jaouen Hadjam's cut-back. Vitor Reis deflected in Rayan Cherki's 72nd-minute free-kick to send the tie to penalties.
In the shootout, Kovacic's penalty was saved by Jason Steele, but Rulli denied Brighton's Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk to send City into the last eight, according to 7m Sport. The result keeps City's cup run alive despite a much-changed side, and underlines the depth Maresca is willing to trust in domestic cup ties.
The sides meet again in the Premier League at the Etihad on Saturday, according to 7m Sport, giving Brighton an immediate chance at revenge. Elsewhere in the EFL Cup fourth round, Liverpool beat Chelsea in a shootout, Bournemouth extended their winning run with a 3-0 win against Aston Villa, and fourth-tier Fleetwood reached the quarter-finals with a penalty shootout victory over Premier League champions Arsenal, according to the same round-up.
What happens next for City is a quick turnaround: Saturday's league meeting with Brighton now carries extra edge after a cup tie neither side managed to win in open play, and Maresca must decide whether to restore his rested stars or keep faith with the players who survived the shootout.