Brentford thrash Grimsby to sail into quarter-finals

Brentford, semi-finalists in 2020-21, have never won the League Cup

A much-changed Brentford cruised into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup for the fourth time in six seasons after ending Grimsby Town's memorable run in emphatic style.

The League Two hosts caused one of the biggest shocks in EFL Cup history when they knocked out Manchester United two months ago.

Despite making nine changes, Brentford showed their Premier League class and turned on the style to score five.

Having also knocked out Premier League rivals Bournemouth and Aston Villa in the competition, they are just two rounds from a first major cup final.

"The attacking play was outstanding," said Brentford manager Keith Andrews after his side's fourth win in five games.

"We've had a tough cup run - here included - with Premier League opposition.

"We want to achieve things, myself included. We want to push and be demanding of each other as possible, and see how far we can go."

Around 8,000 Grimsby fans packed Blundell Park hoping for another night to remember, but three first-half goals put the visitors in complete control.

Long-serving midfielder Mathias Jensen swept home the first from the edge of the area in the 22nd minute before Keane Lewis-Potter's header doubled the lead four minutes later from Reiss Nelson's cross.

Nelson then marked his first start since joining on loan from Arsenal in September by making it 3-0 from 20 yards in the 43rd minute.

Grimsby, who followed up their victory over Manchester United by winning at Championship club Sheffield Wednesday, should have taken the lead when the game was goalless but Evan Khouri's header was saved.

The Mariners have been full of heart and soul in this competition and were looking to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in 40 years.

But Fabio Carvalho put the tie out of reach by scoring a 54th-minute penalty after the former Liverpool player had been fouled by Khouri, before substitute Nathan Collins headed home the fifth.

Brentford will discover their last-eight opponents on Wednesday.

Brentford analysis: Bees show strength in depth

The last time these two clubs met was in League Two 16 years ago.

Since then Brentford have climbed the divisions to establish themselves in the Premier League, and now they have another quarter-final to look forward to.

Questions were asked whether manager and former set-piece coach Andrews could continue the good work of Thomas Frank after the Dane left for Tottenham in the summer.

It is fair to say the transition has gone better than many thought.

In the past four weeks Brentford have beaten Manchester United, West Ham, Liverpool and, on Tuesday, produced a thoroughly professional display to overcome Grimsby, something Ruben Amorim's side were unable to do.

It was a much-changed Bees line-up, with only defender Sepp van den Berg and forward Dango Ouattara appearing from the starting XI that put Liverpool to the sword at the weekend.

This was a near-perfect night for the visitors, who emerged with a fine win and no injuries after giving much-needed game time to several fringe players.

Nelson, Carvalho and Lewis-Potter were among those who impressed, with all three finishing the game with one goal and one assist each.

"Tonight, Keane, Reiss, Fabio were excellent and provided real quality," added Andrews.

While this was a reality check for Grimsby, Brentford's travelling fans left Blundell Park wondering if their team can better the achievement of four years ago when they reached the semi-finals of the EFL Cup.