Stefanos Tzimas of Brighton & Hove Albion celebrates scoring his team's fifth goal during the Carabao Cup Second Round match at Oxford Unitedplaceholder image
Stefanos Tzimas of Brighton & Hove Albion celebrates scoring his team's fifth goal during the Carabao Cup Second Round match at Oxford United
How the Seagulls rated in the Carabao Cup at the Kassam Stadium
Brighton cruised into the third round of the Carabao Cup with a comfortable 5-0 win at Oxford United.
Fabian Hurzeler made 11 changes from the team that lost 2-0 in the Premier League at Everton last Sunday and was rewarded with convincing performance.
Debutant Olivier Boscagli gave Albion the lead at the Championship club with a deflected effort in the 13th minute.
The lively Brajan Gruda added a second seven minutes later as he powered home an effort from Joel Veltman's clever pass.
Harry Howell and Ferdi Kadioglu both missed chances after the break but the third arrived on 60 minutes as Diego Gomez poked home from close range after Gruda's corner.
Stefanos Tzimas came off the bench for his Brighton debut and what first appearance it was. He scored his first with lovely finish on 70 minutes and then added his second and Brighton’s fifth with another deft strike from Howell’s pass.
Another new signing added the final touch as Tommy Watson, a £10m arrival from Sunderland, curled in a sublime sixth. All smiles at the Kassam.
Here's how they rated at the Kassam Stadium...
Jason Steele - 9 Saved Brighton's blushes early on with shapr save to deny Oxford after Igor's error. Made a number of good saves throughout
Joel Veltman - 6 Set up Gruda's first goal with a nicely weighted lobbed pass. Almost gifted Oxford a chance back when his pass went straight to Harris. Steele saved.
Diego Coppola - 6 A solid first competitive outing for the Italian international after his £10m move from Verona
Olivier Boscagli - 8 Opened the scoring on 12 minutes with a deflected left footed effort. Looks very calm and composed. Excellent
Igor Julio - 6 Poor pass in the first minute almost gifted Oxford the opener. Looked a little rusty but improved as the game went on.
James Milner - 7 Captain for the evening and guided the young players around him with the authority you would expect.
Diego Gomez - 6 Should have played in Gruda instead of shooting in the second minute. But heavily involved in the first and much needed minutes in the tank. Scored the third as he poked home from close range.
Harry Howell - 7 A first competitive start for the 17-year-old and winger did ok. Looked confident in possession and always willing to run at defenders. Missed one excellent chance from close range from Gruda's freekick just after the break. Two assists for Tzimas.
Brajan Gruda - 9 Missed a great chance to open the scoring when he took too long to get his shot away. Recovered quickly with a nice assist for Boscagli's deflected opener and then thumped home the second. Brighton's most creative spark on the night, an absolute baller.
Ferdi Kadioglu - 6 Bombed up and down the left flank throughout the first half. Received a tough challenge to knee on 53 minutes which had the Albion bench worried.
Jack Hinshelwood - 6 Played in his favoured midfield role. Covered plenty of ground as always. Saw a header saved after half an hour after ghosting into the box.
Subs: Stafanos Tzimas – 9: Two goals on debut and added plenty of energy, an excellent introduction. Tommy Watson – 8: A sublime finish as he curled home a sixth.
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