London, Aug 28: Premier League teams Brighton, Everton, Crystal Palace and Leicester enjoyed big wins over lower-league opponents in the second round of the English League Cup.
Brighton has opened its league campaign with wins over Everton and Manchester United under new manager Fabian Hurzeler, and built on those results by overwhelming third-tier Crawley in a 4-0 victory at Amex Stadium thanks to goals by Simon Adingra, Jeremy Sarmiento, Adam Webster and Mark O’Mahony.
The negative on the evening for Brighton was the sight of new signing Matt O’Riley – who arrived from Celtic on Monday – needing to be helped off the field in the sixth minute because of injury.Everton had goals by Tim Iroegbunam, Iliman Ndiaye and Beto in a 3-0 win over fourth-tier Doncaster, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze were among the scorers for Palace in a 4-0 thrashing of second-tier Norwich, and Leicester won by the same score line at home to fourth-tier Tranmere with new signing Jordan Ayew opening the scoring at King Power Stadium.
Everton and Palace have started the Premier League with back-to-back losses, while Leicester has just one point from its opening two matches back in the top flight.Fulham was the other Premier League team in action and also won, 2-0 at third-tier Birmingham. Mexico striker Raul Jimenez scored the first goal.
The second round sees top-flight clubs entering the competition, except for those involved in European competition this season.
There are more games on Wednesday, including Italy international Sandro Tonali returning after a 10-month gambling ban for Newcastle at Nottingham Forest. (AP)
The English League Cup provided a much-needed confidence boost for several Premier League sides, with Brighton, Everton, Crystal Palace, and Leicester all securing dominant wins. (AP)
