Man City Survive Brighton Scare on Penalties to Reach League Cup Quarterfinals

Manchester City avoided the kind of exit suffered by Arsenal by beating Brighton in a penalty shootout and moving into the quarterfinals of the English League Cup. The holders twice trailed at home before finishing level at 2-2, then won the shootout 4-3.

Backup goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli was the hero. City had fallen behind in the shootout when Mateo Kovacic had the team's fourth penalty saved by Jason Steele, but Rulli responded by stopping Brighton's last two efforts, from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk.

City manager Enzo Maresca made nine changes after Saturday's defeat at Aston Villa, which ended the league leaders' perfect start to the Premier League season. Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Gianluigi Donnarumma were among those rested.

Brighton took the lead after 30 minutes when Malick Yalcouye steered Georginio Rutter's shot past Rulli from five yards. Kovacic pulled City level about 20 minutes later with a fine finish that curled into the far corner from 25 yards.

Rutter put Brighton back in front two minutes after half-time, slotting home from a Jaouen Hadjam cut-back. City found a second equaliser in the 72nd minute, when Vitor Reis deflected in a free kick from Rayan Cherki.

The two sides will meet again in the Premier League at the Etihad on Saturday. In the League Cup, City will now face third-tier Bradford for a place in the semifinals.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth extended their strong run with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries beat AC Milan 3-0 in the Europa League last week and followed that with a 3-0 victory at Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

Crystal Palace eased some of the pressure on manager Pierre Sage with a 1-0 win at Fulham. They will host Sunderland in the quarterfinals, after Sunderland enjoyed a welcome break from their Premier League struggles by beating Brentford 3-2 at the Stadium of Light.

Fourth-tier Fleetwood had already reached the last eight on Tuesday, stunning Premier League champions Arsenal in a penalty shootout. The "Cod Army" will face the winner of Thursday's tie between Everton and Newcastle. The other quarterfinal pairs Liverpool with Bournemouth.