🏆 PL sides avoid potential cup upsets as Everton, Brighton, Palace win | OneFootball

There were several EFL Cup fixtures this evening, as Premier League sides not in European action joined the competition.

Here’s what happened.

Leicester deliver comprehensive win over Tranmere

Scorers: Ayew 38′, Mavididi 51′ (PEN), Ndidi 71, Winks 90′

There were no slip-ups for Leicester City, as they recorded a 4-0 win over Tranmere at the King Power Stadium.

Steve Cooper’s side were off the mark thanks to Jordan Ayew, when the Tranmere defence failed to close the experienced forward down on the edge of the box.

In plenty of space, Ayew – making his full debut for the Foxes – unleashed a wicked effort from range which hit the back of the net in some style.

Shortly into the second half and the home side asserted their dominance as Stephy Mavididi converted a penalty.

The tie was sealed when Wilfred Ndidi exchanged a series of quick passes with Ayew and Harry Winks before delivering the cool finish.

Winks himself added to the scoreline when he tried a shot from well outside the box that flew into the back of the net.

Everton relief after poor league form doesn’t carry over to the cup

Scorers: Iroegbunam 53′, Ndiaye 74′, Beto 83′

It was almost half-time before Everton got going in this tie, when James Garner went close twice in two minutes, once seeing his shot blocked and then smashing a volley against the post from a corner.

The home side’s fortunes finally improved when a ball in from the right-hand side dropped nicely on the edge of the box for new signing Tim Iroegbunam, who made no mistake in smashing home.

Doncaster almost had an equaliser when Joe Sbarra forced Jordan Pickford to get down quickly to make the save.

The League Two side would be left to rue that chance that went begging, as a superb solo effort from Iliman Ndiaye put the Toffees two goals to the good.

It was goodnight for Doncaster when Beto prodded a right-footed shot into the corner to let Goodison Park breathe a sigh of relief.

Brighton see off Crawley but lose new signing to injury

Scorers: Adingra 31′, Sarmiento 48′, Webster 84′, O’Mahony 86′

Brighton made it three wins from three in the new season, as they beat League One Crawley by a 4-0 scoreline.

Seagulls boss Fabian Hürzeler made nine changes from the side that beat Manchester United at the weekend, but did include new signing Matt O’Riley, who arrived from Celtic.

That decision came back to haunt him in some style as the new man limped off just a few minutes into the game.

Crawley were in confident mood early on, but Brighton killed that bluster with a quick break and a confident finish from Simon Adingra.

Into the second half and a sublime bit of skill for Julio Enciso allowed the Paraguayan to skip away from his marker and feed in Jeremy Sarmiento, who delivered a finish high into the net.

The visitors had a shout for a penalty waved away and a header from a quick break go just wide of the post, but Brighton were too strong and Adam Webster added their third with a header from a corner.

That’s when the floodgates opened, and Mark O’Mahony dispossessed Josh Flint to finish into the bottom corner.

Mateta stars as Crystal Palace demolish Norwich

Scorers: Kamada 2′, Mateta 57′, 68′, Eze 84′

It was a miserable night for Norwich at Selhurst Park as they lost 4-0 to a confident Crystal Palace side.

Palace were off the mark quickly when French star Jean-Philippe Mateta showed his quality, slipping in a perfect through ball to Daichi Kamada in a central position, who rounded the goalkeeper and tapped into an empty net.

The fans at Selhurst Park celebrated a second goal soon after, but Eberechi Eze’s effort was ruled out for offside.

Mateta drew plenty of attention with his superb performances for France in the Olympics, and he showed no sign of stopping as he netted with a brilliant bicycle kick.

And the Frenchman struck again less than ten minutes later as he found himself unmarked in the box and unleashed a shot into the roof of the net.

As full-time was drawing closer, Eze made it four as his run across the edge of the box made enough space for him to shoot and get his goal for the evening.

Fulham dispatch big-spending League One side Birmingham

Scorers: Jiménez 10′ (PEN), Stansfield 14′

A professional performance from Fulham knocked Birmingham City out with a 2-0 win from the home side.

It was an early penalty converted by Raul Jiménez that set Fulham off on the right footing, and that one-goal advantage was soon two, when a long ball over the top was deftly taken down and converted by Jay Stansfield.

Birmingham were making a good account of themselves, and the League One side came close when Willum Willumsson smashed a direct free-kick onto the crossbar.

Yet they couldn’t raise their level enough to compete with Fulham on what was a straightforward evening for the Premier League outfit.

Elsewhere

There are seven more EFL Cup matches to be played on Wednesday evening, with West Ham v Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest v Newcastle all-Premier League ties.