Callum Wilson marked his first full appearance for Brentford in style, scoring inside six minutes as the Bees thrashed Championship side Birmingham City 6-1 in the Carabao Cup second round at St. Andrew's Stadium.

The 34-year-old, who arrived on a free transfer from relegated West Ham, wasted no time making an impression. His crisp, first-time finish from the edge of the area took a deflection off Birmingham defender Dael Fry — who endured a debut to forget on the other side of the scoreline.

Birmingham briefly levelled when Demarai Gray drilled a deflected shot through a crowd of players in the 28th minute, but the equaliser lasted all of seven minutes before Brentford reasserted their Premier League quality.

Collapse before the break

Lax defending from the hosts gifted Aaron Hickey a finish from an angled position, and captain Nathan Collins then rose to nod home a header from Jaidon Anthony's cross — both goals arriving in quick succession to effectively end the contest before half-time.

Birmingham manager Chris Davies had made six changes from their opening league fixtures, handing starts to goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, Dael Fry, and Argentinian striker Luis Vazquez. The gulf between a Championship side in transition and a settled Premier League squad was ruthlessly exposed.

In contrast, Brentford manager Keith Andrews kept only three players from the XI that had dismantled Tottenham, yet new faces flourished. Yehor Yarmoliuk ran the midfield with authority before being forced off with injury, while three of the fresh starters got their names on the scoresheet.

Brentford pour it on after the break

Mikkel Damsgaard extended the lead to four with a composed finish on the end of a counter-attack in the 70th minute. Igor Thiago then added a fifth with a smart close-range finish in the 73rd minute, sending large sections of the crowd towards the exits — and missing Collins' second header of the night, which arrived in the 77th minute to complete the rout.

Brentford had been quarter-finalists in the competition last season, yet had failed to beat Birmingham in their six previous meetings — the last a goalless draw in the Championship more than five years ago. Tuesday's performance signalled emphatically how far the Bees have travelled since those days, and how far Birmingham still hope to go as they chase promotion back to the top flight.