Yorkshire | Barnsley thrashed by Premier League Brighton

Barnsley 0 - 6 Brighton & Hove Albion 

Brighton never looked back as a stunning four-goal display from Diego Gómez helped the Seagulls ease past Barnsley.

Author | James Whaling 

Stadium | Oakwell

The visitors threatened within five minutes, Danny Welbeck slipping in Stefanos Tzimas, only for Mael de Gevigney to recover in time and allow Murphy Cooper to gather. Moments later, Brighton struck. Jake Rooney’s interception broke to Tom Watson on the left, who squared for Gómez to finish from close range.

The Reds responded with a Luca Connell free-kick that found de Gevigney, but his header was off target. From there, though, Brighton tightened their grip. Gómez doubled the lead with a thunderous strike into the top corner and completed his hat-trick before the interval, unleashing a half-volley from distance that left Cooper with no chance.

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The second half brought more pressure from the visitors. Cooper denied Carlos Baleba and Alfie Shepherd cleared off the line to frustrate Tzimas. At the other end, Davis Keillor-Dunn almost embarrassed Jason Steele with an audacious effort from halfway, the ball clipping the bar as the Brighton keeper scrambled back.

Gómez struck again inside the final 20 minutes to cap a remarkable individual performance, before teenager Harry Howell added a fifth. Yasin Ayari rounded off the scoring late on to seal a 6-0 victory and the Reds’ elimination from the competition.

Gomez delivers masterclass

Brighton eased past lower-league opposition once again in the EFL Cup, though this was very much Diego Gómez’s night.

The Paraguayan, one of eight changes from the weekend draw with Tottenham, has been a peripheral figure in the league so far. Given his chance at Oakwell, he seized it in style with four goals.

The away end pre-match

His first and fourth were assured finishes, his second a thunderous strike after latching onto Tom Watson’s pass. Yet it was his third that will live longest in the memory, a breathtaking half-volley from distance that left Murphy Cooper rooted as the ball soared into the net.

Described as “special” by Brighton’s manager when he joined from MLS in January, this is a player who is rapidly building a reputation for the spectacular.

He announced himself on the final day of last season with a curling strike against Tottenham in a 4-1 win, and struck again in the previous round at Oxford with a close-range finish.

Now, after this four-goal performance in Yorkshire, Fabian Hurzeler faces a serious decision over whether to hand Gómez a place in the starting eleven for the trip to Chelsea this weekend.