Maresca reveals Man City never practised penalties after Carabao Cup shoot-out survival against Brighton

Manchester City edged past Brighton 4-3 on penalties to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, with back-up goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli saving efforts from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk after the holders twice came from behind in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

Manager Enzo Maresca then offered a candid admission: his squad had done no penalty preparation whatsoever. “To be honest, since I’ve been here we never practised penalties,” he said, before praising the five City players who stepped up. Phil Foden, Enzo Fernandez, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki all converted, while Mateo Kovacic’s miss proved inconsequential thanks to Rulli’s interventions.

Maresca was characteristically relaxed about Kovacic’s failure. “We’re very happy with the five, even Mateo. It always happens — the one that scored during the 90 minutes then misses the penalty.”

Kovacic had cancelled out Malick Yalcouye’s opener before half-time, but Georginio Rutter restored Brighton’s lead after the restart and came close to putting the visitors in full control, hitting the bar and the side-netting in a dominant spell. The momentum shifted when Doku came off the bench, and Vitor Reis diverted a Cherki free-kick to force extra time and then penalties.

Maresca, who made nine changes and rested Erling Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Josko Gvardiol after brief holidays, said he had no regrets about his rotation. “I was happy with the way we planned the game, with the rotation, and especially I was very, very, very happy with the ones that were playing.”

He also singled out Rulli, Donnarumma’s deputy, for praise beyond his shoot-out heroics. “Apart from the penalties, I think overall he was good, especially in the build-up. He also made a good save.”

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler acknowledged his side had enough chances to win but refused to dwell on the defeat. “We lost in a shoot-out. The goals we conceded were very unlucky. They had the luck today. We have to reset.” He added that he would never blame players for missing penalties, describing it as a collective effort. The two sides meet again at the Etihad in the Premier League on Saturday.