Birmingham City 1 Brentford 6: Bees cruise into Carabao Cup round three
Brentford secured a comfortable passage into the third round of the Carabao Cup with a 6-1 victory over Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Tuesday, 25 August 2026. Nathan Collins scored twice as the Bees dominated from the outset, with Callum Wilson opening the scoring on his first competitive start for the club.
How did Brentford take control so early?
Brentford threatened inside five minutes when Jaidon Anthony met Mikkel Damsgaard's cross from a short corner, and Yehor Yarmoliuk won possession in midfield to find Callum Wilson, who scored the opening goal. Birmingham City equalised on 28 minutes when Paik Seung-ho played a short free-kick to Demarai Gray, whose low strike left Hákon Valdimarsson unable to keep it out. However, Brentford regained the lead just before half-time when Aaron Hickey scored from the edge of the box after a Bright Osayi-Samuel intervention, making it 2-1.
What happened in the second half?
Brentford extended their lead shortly after the break when Mikkel Damsgaard fed Jaidon Anthony down the left, and Nathan Collins rose to head home from the resulting delivery. Despite Birmingham City creating clearer openings, Brentford continued to dominate. A well-worked corner saw Vitaly Janelt combine with Jaidon Anthony, whose cross was met by Jannik Schuster, who headed narrowly wide. Later, from a counter-attack initiated by Valdimarsson, Jaidon Anthony provided his third assist of the night for Igor Thiago to score Brentford's fifth goal.
How did Nathan Collins seal the victory?
Three minutes after Thiago's goal, Mamadou Sangaré collected possession on the edge of the box and delivered a cross for Nathan Collins, who powered his header beyond Allsop to complete his brace and make it 6-1. Collins, Vitaly Janelt, and Dango Ouattara were the only Brentford players to retain their places from Saturday's 3-0 Premier League victory over Tottenham Hotspur, while Keith Andrews made eight changes for the League Cup tie. Jannik Schuster made his senior debut, and Jaidon Anthony, Callum Wilson, and Jannik Schuster all made their first competitive starts for Brentford.
What does this mean for Birmingham City moving forward?
Birmingham City, currently 13th in the Championship with 2 points from two games (0W-2D-0L, recent form DD), face an away fixture against Wrexham on 28 August 2026. The Blues are four points behind league leaders Millwall and have scored and conceded two goals each this season. For more on upcoming games, visit our fixtures page, and to see how the squad is shaping up, check the squad section.
Keith Andrews said: "The scoreline obviously suggests it was maybe easier than it was" Jaidon Anthony said: "It was really good and really professional from the boys"
