Brentford beat Reading 2-1 in the League Cup Round of 32 at Select Car Leasing Stadium on Tuesday evening. The visitors took control early and held on despite a late reading fightback. The result sends them through to the next stage while reading's cup hopes came to an end.
Callum Wilson opened the scoring in the third minute, catching reading off guard. Fabio Carvalho made it 2-0 before half-time on 45+1, and that was enough to see Brentford through to the break with a comfortable lead. Mamadou Sangare came off for reading at the break, perhaps an attempt to shift momentum.
Reading pulled one back through Paudie O'Connor in the 72nd minute, and for a moment the tie looked alive again. But Brentford responded with three substitutions on 77 minutes, bringing on Dango Ouattara alongside Carvalho and Wilson. By then the game was effectively over, and reading's effort came too late.
Brentford owned 71 per cent of possession and created eight big chances against reading's three. Their expected goals figure stood at 3.21 compared to 1.4, and they registered eight shots on target to reading's three. The statistics tell you everything about how one-sided the match was, and yet reading's goal gave them something to talk about afterwards.
For reading, this is another exit to add to a recent run of mixed results. They beat Cambridge 2-1 last week and had five wins in their previous six games, but that goal was not enough against a superior opposition. Brentford move on, reading go home.
