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Stefanos Tzimas came on in the second half and scored twice At a glance Stefanos Tzimas comes off bench to score twice on Albion debut Tom Watson and Olivier Boscagli also bag on Brighton bows Wasteful Oxford have 11 shots on target, to Brighton's nine PLAYER RATER Olivier Boscagli, Stefanos Tzimas and Tom Watson all scored on their Brighton debuts as they clinically demolished Championship side Oxford United to reach the third round of the Carabao Cup. Albion, who made 11 changes, led when defender Boscagli's shot took a huge deflection before looping over U's keeper Matt Ingram. And Brajan Gruda doubled their lead when he received Joel Veltman's ball over the top before smashing a shot home. Diego Gomez poked in a third from close range. And £20m Greek teenager Tzimas slotted home after running on to Harry Howell's ball. Howell, 17, picked out substitute Tzimas again to net Brighton's fifth. And Watson curled a beauty into the top corner to complete the rout. Oxford, who are yet to win in the league, were shambolic defensively – but missed several chances to score with 11 shots on target. Maybe it could have been different if Przemyslaw Placheta had not fired straight at Jason Steele after 21 seconds – but United have nobody but themselves to blame for the nature of the defeat. Brighton will visit Barnsley in the third round on the week of 15 or 22 September. Brighton have only picked up one point from their opening two Premier League games so places in the team could well be up for grabs. And while this was a fully changed team from their defeat by Everton, most of their XI were players who feature in the league – and then there were the youngsters who shone from the bench. Boscagli struck the opener on his debut following his summer free transfer move from PSV Eindhoven. Gruda and Gomez have both scored for Fabian Hurzeler's team in the Premier League. And then on came two 19-year-old signings - £20m Tzimas and £10m Watson – and £30m 18-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas. Tzimas netted twice and set up Watson for number six. Will some feature on Sunday against Manchester City? You have to imagine so. Oxford have also started their league season poorly and are one of three EFL teams on zero points. Their defending and their finishing were equally shocking here – they actually had more shots on target than Brighton managed. Steele's 10 saves were the most any goalkeeper has had to make in a Carabao Cup tie since February 2024 - but most of those stops were routine. Both sides have one game left before the international break. Oxford United: Gary Rowett's side host Coventry on Saturday, the Coventry who hit seven goals last weekend against QPR. Brighton & Hove Albion: Albion host Manchester City on Sunday in the Premier League. Read about the rest of Wednesday's Carabao Cup drama After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Manager: Gary Rowett Formation: 5 - 4 - 1 Manager: Fabian Hürzeler Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Gary Rowett Formation: 5 - 4 - 1 Manager: Fabian Hürzeler Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 League Cup All competitions All competitions All competitions Match ends, Oxford United 0, Brighton and Hove Albion 6. Second Half ends, Oxford United 0, Brighton and Hove Albion 6. Attempt blocked. Brajan Gruda (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Diego Coppola. Delay over. They are ready to continue. Fourth official has announced 4 minutes of added time. Delay in match because of an injury Jack Currie (Oxford United). Attempt blocked. Brajan Gruda (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Elliott Moore (Oxford United). Corner, Brighton and Hove Albion. Conceded by Elliott Moore. Attempt blocked. Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Goal! Oxford United 0, Brighton and Hove Albion 6. Tom Watson (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Stefanos Tzimas. Attempt missed. Brian De Keersmaecker (Oxford United) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Sam Long. Attempt missed. Brajan Gruda (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Carlos Baleba following a fast break. Attempt blocked. Luke Harris (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Substitution, Oxford United. Tom Bradshaw replaces Mark Harris. Foul by Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton and Hove Albion). Brian De Keersmaecker (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt blocked. Brian De Keersmaecker (Oxford United) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nik Prelec. Attempt saved. Nik Prelec (Oxford United) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal by Jason Steele (Brighton and Hove Albion). Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.