Unlikely hero: How Man City beat Brighton to reach EFL Cup quarter-final

Manchester City edged past Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 on penalties following a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, securing their place in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.

The Fourth Round clash between the two high-flying Premier League clubs delivered an entertaining, back-and-forth spectacle. 

Enzo Maresca's City side found themselves trailing twice in regular time but showed immense resilience to fight back on both occasions.

The dramatic encounter ultimately came down to a tense penalty shootout, where veteran goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli emerged as the hero for the hosts, making two crucial saves to break Brighton's hearts.

Brighton started the match with impressive attacking intent and were rewarded in the 30th minute when Malick Yalcouyé turned the ball home from close range to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. 

Manchester City responded well, taking control of possession, and equalised just before the halftime break. In the 40th minute, captain Mateo Kovačić swept a fine finish from the edge of the box into the back of the net to make it 1-1.

The visitors exploded out of the gates in the second half, restoring their advantage just 90 seconds after the restart. Georginio Rutter finished a swift attacking move in the 47th minute to put Brighton up 2-1, once again forcing City to chase the game. 

Refusing to lie down, Maresca's side continued to press and found their second equaliser in the 72nd minute. A dangerous free-kick delivered by Rayan Cherki took a massive deflection off defender Vitor Reis, finding its way past Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele to level the score at 2-2.

With no extra time, the match proceeded directly to a penalty shootout. Both teams converted their first three spot-kicks flawlessly, with Phil Foden, Enzo Fernández, and Jérémy Doku scoring for City, while Pascal Groß, Matt O'Riley, and Maxim De Cuyper answered for Brighton. 

The drama unfolded in the fourth round when Mateo Kovačić missed his penalty, handing the advantage to the visitors. However, Gerónimo Rulli immediately rescued his captain by saving Yasin Ayari's ensuing effort. 

Rayan Cherki then converted for City to put the pressure on Brighton captain Lewis Dunk, and Rulli produced another sensational save to deny the centre-back, sealing the 4-3 shootout victory for Manchester City.