This was as tough as it could get but in the end Manchester City beat Brighton 4-3 on penalties at the Etihad Stadium, thanks in no small part to the excellent Jeremy Doku, before Geronimo Rulli shone in the shootouts to win it for Enzo Maresca’s side.
Rulli saved from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk after the sides drew 2-2 in normal time, with Mateo Kovacic also missing from the spot for the hosts. The result came after both sides suffered defeats in the Premier League at the weekend. City lost 2-1 away to Aston Villa, their first league defeat of the season, before Brighton went down 2-0 at Liverpool.
City made nine changes, with Erling Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Josko Gvardiol all left out. Brighton made seven changes of their own.
Brighton started really well here as expected, pressing aggressively and moving the ball quickly to exploit gaps whenever City lost possession. City had chances but in the absence of Erling Haaland they lacked sharpness in goal, Phil Foden showing some good signs but not quite delivering the goods.
Rayan Cherki brought his quality to bear, winning a free-kick after driving past Olivier Boscagli, and the resulting attack nearly led to an opening goal when Foden sent a dangerous cross into the area, but Floyd Samba was unable to finish.
Brighton also threatened. Boscagli chipped a pass over the City defence and Ayari sent the ball across the penalty area, but the visitors could not find the target. Rulli kept the scores level before Brighton finally broke through in the 30th minute.
Malick Yalcouye’s effort struck the goalkeeper before bouncing into the net. City appealed for offside, but there was no VAR. However, they responded quickly enough. Foden found Kovacic near the edge of the penalty area, and the Croatian midfielder placed a low shot beyond Jason Steele into the bottom-left corner to make it 1-1 before half-time.
Maresca made two changes at the break, bringing on Rayan Ait-Nouri and Ryan McAidoo for Ayyoub Bouaddi and Samba, but City soon fell behind again. Brighton played through the home side’s midfield unchecked before Jaouen Hadjam crossed for Georginio Rutter to slide the ball into the net.
A second response was slow to come for City. They wasted possession as the clock ticked away and Brighton continued to look dangerous from set-pieces. Rutter then came close to scoring again as Fabian Hurzeler’s side threatened to put the tie beyond their opponents.
Maresca turned to Doku just after the hour mark, and the Belgian immediately brought greater pace and directness to City’s attacks, forcing Brighton to defend deeper.
His first meaningful contribution saw him play Ait-Nouri into space down the left. City still lacked players in the right positions to make the most of his work, but Doku kept finding ways through the visiting defence.
Brighton could not maintain the same control as City began to dominate possession closer to goal. Foden won a free-kick near the edge of the penalty area, and Cherki stepped up to hit it with power. Vitor Reis got a touch on the ball, sending it beyond Steele to restore parity at 2-2.
The equaliser gave City fresh belief, and they pushed for a winner. Doku continued to trouble Brighton, but the visitors survived the late pressure to force penalties.
Kovacic had a chance to put City ahead in the shootout but was denied by Steele. Rulli then took centre stage, saving Ayari’s effort before making the decisive stop to keep out Dunk’s fifth spotkick.
