City held their nerve to beat Brighton in a penalty shootout on Wednesday night, although Enzo Maresca has revealed there was rather less preparation behind it than supporters might have imagined.
City won 4-3 on penalties after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 at the Etihad, with Gerónimo Rulli eventually emerging as the hero of a dramatic Carabao Cup tie.
City got the job done without penalty practice
Asked afterwards how much work his players had done on penalties in training, Maresca made a surprisingly straightforward admission. “Since I am here, we’ve never practised it,” the City boss said.
It did not appear to hamper most of his players. Phil Foden, Enzo Fernandez and Jeremy Doku converted City’s opening three penalties before Mateo Kovačić, who had scored their first equaliser during normal time, was denied by Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele.
Maresca saw the funny side of Kovačić being the one player to miss after scoring from open play, but Rulli quickly ensured it would not prove costly. The Argentine saved from Yasin Ayari before Rayan Cherki converted City’s fifth penalty, leaving Rulli to deny Lewis Dunk and complete the victory.
There was another nice twist afterwards when Rulli revealed he had told Enzo Fernandez before the game that he would save two penalties if the tie went to a shootout. That prediction proved rather more accurate than any training-ground preparation could have been.
City’s reward is a home quarter-final against League One Bradford City in December. Given Wednesday night’s outcome, Maresca may not be rushing to add penalty practice to the training schedule just yet.
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