Manchester City beat Brighton 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw
Attendance 49,107 · Referee Andy Madley
Manchester City beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium. Brighton had 17 shots to City's 13 and 6 on target to 3, but City scored from two of their three.
- M. Kovačić 40'
- Vitor Reis 72'
- M. Yalcouyé 30'
- G. Rutter 47'
The match in three moments
- 30'Brighton & Hove Albion
Yalcouyé puts Brighton ahead
Yalcouyé scored for Brighton in the 30th minute, with the assist credited to Rutter, and the score was 0-1 at that point.
- 40'Manchester City
Kovačić levels before half-time
Kovačić equalised for Manchester City in the 40th minute from Foden's assist, and the match was 1-1 at half-time.
- 72'Manchester City
Vitor Reis forces penalties
Vitor Reis scored for Manchester City in the 72nd minute from Cherki's assist to make it 2-2, the final score before the penalty shoot-out, which City won 4-3.
How the game unfolded
Brighton & Hove Albion scored twice through Yalcouyé in the 30th minute and Rutter in the 47th, either side of Kovačić's equaliser for Manchester City in the 40th, and still lost. Vitor Reis made it 2-2 in the 72nd minute from Cherki's pass, and from there the tie went to penalties, which City won 4-3.
The shot count argues for Brighton: 17 to City's 13, 6 on target to 3, and 7 corners to 3. City's finishing did the rest, scoring from two of their three shots on target against Brighton's two from six. City also had the ball far more, 57 per cent of possession to 43, and completed 448 of 527 passes at 85.0 per cent against Brighton's 320 of 391 at 81.8 per cent.
Brighton were the busier side defensively and physically. They made 29 tackles to City's 26, won 22 of them to City's 17, and sent in 16 crosses to City's 5. They also committed 20 fouls to City's 3: Svoboda was booked in the 11th minute, and Wieffer and Dunk followed in stoppage time, while City's only yellow went to Bouaddi in the 32nd. City's goalkeeper Rulli made 4 saves in normal time to Brighton's Steele with 1.
Enzo Maresca used all five of his substitutes, Aït-Nouri and McAidoo on at half-time, Doku on in the 61st, Khusanov in the 76th and Fernández in the 87th. Fabian Hürzeler matched him change for change, with four of Brighton's five arriving in two double switches at 76 and 81 minutes, and the fifth, Dunk, following at 85.
Attendance was 49,107 at the Etihad Stadium, with Andy Madley the referee. Before this game Manchester City had won three of their five listed matches and lost two, including a 2-4 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, while Brighton had won three of their five and lost one, 0-2 away at Liverpool.
Match at a glance
Manchester City / Brighton & Hove Albion
Goals and cards, minute by minute
- 11'M. SvobodaYellow card · Brighton & Hove Albion
- 30'M. YalcouyéGoal · Brighton & Hove Albion · assist G. Rutter
- 32'A. BouaddiYellow card · Manchester City
- 40'M. KovačićGoal · Manchester City · assist P. Foden
- 47'G. RutterGoal · Brighton & Hove Albion · assist J. Hadjam
- 72'Vitor ReisGoal · Manchester City · assist R. Cherki
- 90+1'M. WiefferYellow card · Brighton & Hove Albion
- 90+2'L. DunkYellow card · Brighton & Hove Albion
Match statistics
Manchester City / Brighton & Hove Albion
The basics
Attack
Passing
Defending
Goalkeeping
Line-ups
Manchester City 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Enzo Maresca
- 28 G. Rulli
- 82 R. Lewis Off 76' for A. Khusanov
- 33 N. O'Reilly Off 87' for E. Fernández
- 8 M. Kovačić
- 22 Vitor Reis
- 6 M. Guéhi (c)
- 47 P. Foden
- 32 A. Bouaddi Yellow card 32' Off 46' for R. Aït-Nouri
- 75 F. Samba Off 46' for R. McAidoo
- 10 R. Cherki
- 37 Allan Off 61' for J. Doku
Substitutes
- 21 R. Aït-Nouri On 46' for A. Bouaddi
- 13 M. Bettinelli
- 61 K. Braithwaite
- 11 J. Doku On 61' for Allan
- 17 E. Fernández On 87' for N. O'Reilly
- 45 A. Khusanov On 76' for R. Lewis
- 56 R. McAidoo On 46' for F. Samba
- 7 I. Ndiaye
- 76 D. Oliver
Brighton & Hove Albion 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Fabian Hürzeler
- 23 J. Steele
- 20 Costinha
- 3 J. Hadjam
- 26 Y. Ayari
- 30 M. Svoboda Yellow card 11' Off 85' for L. Dunk
- 21 O. Boscagli
- 25 D. Gómez Off 76' for Y. Minteh
- 13 P. Groß (c)
- 10 G. Rutter Off 81' for M. O'Riley
- 8 J. Hinshelwood Off 76' for M. De Cuyper
- 35 M. Yalcouyé Off 81' for M. Wieffer
Substitutes
- 12 P. David
- 29 M. De Cuyper On 76' for J. Hinshelwood
- 5 L. Dunk Yellow card 90+2' On 85' for M. Svoboda
- 11 Y. Minteh On 76' for D. Gómez
- 33 M. O'Riley On 81' for G. Rutter
- 15 I. Osman
- 1 B. Verbruggen
- 44 L. Vušković
- 27 M. Wieffer Yellow card 90+1' On 81' for M. Yalcouyé
Head to head
Three meetings are listed here, all in the Premier League, and Manchester City have not won any of them: a 1-1 draw at home in January 2026, a 2-1 defeat away at Brighton in August 2025, and a 2-2 draw at home in March 2025. Tonight's 2-2 continues that run before the penalties settled it.
Listed meetings: 3, newest first
- Premier LeagueManchester City1-1Brighton & Hove AlbionDraw
- Premier LeagueBrighton & Hove Albion2-1Manchester CityBrighton & Hove Albion win
- Premier LeagueManchester City2-2Brighton & Hove AlbionDraw
Manchester City
Last 5 games before this one
- LostAston VillaAway · Premier League1-2
- WonAEK AthensHome · UEFA Champions League5-1
- WonIpswich TownHome · Premier League3-2
- LostParis Saint-GermainHome · UEFA Champions League2-4
- WonLiverpoolAway · Premier League3-0
Brighton & Hove Albion
Last 5 games before this one
- LostLiverpoolAway · Premier League0-2
- DrewJablonecAway · UEFA Conference League0-0
- WonCrystal PalaceHome · Premier League5-0
- WonKauno ŽalgirisHome · UEFA Conference League4-0
- WonSunderlandAway · Premier League2-0
Where the figures come from
Scores, scorers, statistics, line-ups and head-to-head results come from the BBC Sport match page, accessed . The analysis and wording are The Sports Guru's own.