Man City Week in Review, Monday 2nd November: Brighton Heartbreak Twice Over, FFP Storm Rumbles on and Women's Champions League Frustration

It's been a jam-packed week for City, dominated by two meetings with Brighton, continued fallout from the FFP guilty verdict, and more European frustration for the women's side.

Starting with the men's team's cup exploits, City edged Brighton on penalties in a dramatic Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at the Etihad, coming from behind twice in normal time before winning the shootout (ManCity.com) (Manchester Evening News). Geronimo Rulli was the hero between the sticks, with Maresca praising his impact and The Sun running through the goalkeeper's colourful career, including a World Cup win and a famous moment against Manchester United (ManCity.com) (The Sun). A BBC Sport piece even captured a fan's view on City's new "heroic" cup keeper (BBC Sport). Maresca also revealed afterwards that the squad hadn't practised penalties before the shootout success (ESPN), and confirmed post-match that Donnarumma would return to the side despite Rulli's heroics, insisting no player at the club is undroppable (Sports Mole) (Manchester Evening News). The win set up a quarter-final against League One side Bradford City, with City handed a favourable home draw according to The Sun and Sports Mole, who also note City are among the favourites to go all the way in the competition (The Sun) (Sports Mole) (Manchester Evening News) (ManCity.com) (ManCity.com). Phil Foden's full-time reaction to the win also caught the eye of the Manchester Evening News, who felt it hinted at an emerging partnership within the side (Manchester Evening News), while Football365 noted the continued sight of empty seats at the Etihad for a Carabao Cup night (Football365).

That good feeling didn't last long, though, as Brighton returned to the Etihad just days later and won 1-0 in the Premier League, with Yasin Ayari's early goal proving decisive according to The Sun (The Sun). Maresca admitted he was left frustrated, citing "silly goals" and individual errors as the problem, specifically referencing a mistake from Matheus Nunes that led to the winner (The Guardian). BBC Sport felt Brighton's balance and a strong display from their goalkeeper were key to the win (BBC Sport) (BBC Sport), while the Mirror and Manchester Evening News both pointed to a concerning pattern developing under Maresca, with further scrutiny on his goalkeeper situation and midfield selection that "backfired" (Mirror) (Manchester Evening News) (Manchester Evening News). Ruben Dias was reported to have addressed the squad in the dressing room afterwards (Manchester Evening News), and Maresca said simply that the team needs to move on now (ManCity.com). There was also reaction to Bouaddi's use out of position, criticised by pundit Aboutrika (Sports Mole), and some City fans were seen venting frustration on social media at one "unserious" player's display, according to GiveMeSport (GiveMeSport). Earlier in the week, Maresca had also been reminded of a key player's value during the defeat at Aston Villa, with BBC Sport noting the team's ability to block out hostile away support amid constant reminders of the financial charges hanging over the club (Manchester Evening News) (BBC Sport).

Speaking of which, the FFP saga continued to generate headlines. Football365 reported suggestions that a points deduction of around 50 points in a single season is becoming the increasingly likely punishment as part of a three-pronged sanction, with a fresh appeal timeline also said to have emerged (Football365) (Football365). The Mirror reported City are said to have "rejected" an explanation given during a dinner meeting involving rivals Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal as the appeal process continues (Mirror), while Rio Ferdinand said he'd disregard any City success if an "asterisk" were attached (talkSPORT). The Mirror also carried claims from Erling Haaland's father on the striker's true feelings about his City future following the guilty verdict (Mirror), and ESPN published a wider look at Premier League spending-per-point in light of the case (ESPN). The Sun also published a lengthy feature on the club's wider Abu Dhabi-backed business interests around the Etihad (The Sun).

On individual honours, Khadija Shaw was named third best player at the 2026 Women's Ballon d'Or, while Erling Haaland finished eighth in the men's award (ManCity.com) (ManCity.com).

In the women's game, City were held 1-1 by PSG in the Women's Champions League, with Shaw's late penalty cancelled out by a stoppage-time PSG equaliser, leaving City without a win in the group so far and boss Andrée Jeglertz admitting he was "not satisfied" with a third straight draw (Sky Sports) (ESPN) (ManCity.com). There was better news in the WSL, though, as City moved to the top of the table with a 2-1 win away at London City Lionesses, with Jeglertz saying afterwards the game "was won in a different way" (Sky Sports) (ManCity.com) (ManCity.com).

Elsewhere, Maresca defended both Donnarumma and Marc Guéhi after criticism of their recent form (ESPN) (Manchester Evening News) (The Guardian), and spoke about Jack Grealish, insisting he still believes him to be a "good guy" (BBC Sport). On the transfer front, Sports Mole reported PSG have made contact over a Bundesliga target also being tracked by City (Sports Mole), while TeamTalk linked City with a "red-hot" German striker alongside several Premier League rivals (TeamTalk). Separately, City are said to have no plans to trigger a buyback option for James McAtee (Sports Mole), and Enzo Fernández has spoken of a future wish to return to River Plate, just weeks after his big-money move to City (talkSPORT).

Finally, former City man James Milner impressed in retirement by completing the New York Marathon in just over three hours at the age of 40 (ESPN).

This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.