Manchester City 7 Sheffield Wednesday 0: League Cup holders in seventh heaven

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The Championship side, who have only conceded four times in the league this season, more than held their own in the first half on Wednesday and might have led through Gary Madine before Eliaquim Mangala struck the post for the hosts.

But Frank Lampard, starting on the back of his emotional equaliser from the bench against former club Chelsea on Sunday, made a trademark run into the box to net a 47th-minute opener that was soon followed by strikes from Edin Dzeko and the excellent Jesus Navas.

Worse was to come for Wednesday as Kamil Zayatte was sent off for a professional foul on Lampard, Yaya Toure - the captain of a strong City line-up - dispatching the resulting 60th-minute penalty.

Dzeko then headed his second of the evening, highly rated youngster Jose Angel Pozo marked his debut with a goal and Lampard completed the rout as the Premier League champions ended a trying four-game run without a win in style.

Wednesday manager Stuart Gray made four changes compared to Manuel Pellegrini's five, and the visiting boss will have been encouraged by a fluent start from his side.

Madine passed up an opportunity to give Wednesday a sixth-minute lead, the forward mis-timing his jump after stealing in behind Mangala on the end of Jacques Maghoma's searching cross.

Mangala thumped a left-footed volley against the post from a 19th-minute corner but that close shave did not prompt an onslaught from the holders.

Chris Kirkland got down well to keep out a Dzeko header and the striker, who scored in every round but the final last season, was frustrated by Tom Lees in the 43rd minute after Lampard’s beautifully flighted pass to Navas had opened Wednesday up.

After such a keenly contested first half, it was hard to envisage Wednesday's night unravelling so spectacularly, but Lampard scrambled home from close range - once more set up by James Milner as he was at the weekend - to open the floodgates.

Giles Coke went close to an immediate leveller as Willy Caballero made a scrambling save but another Lampard goal almost followed as Navas stormed forward on the counter-attack.

Navas was in rampant form, collecting Toure's pass to tee-up Dzeko's 53rd minute second, and the Spanish winger was rewarded himself a minute later as he turned Joe Mattock inside out before lashing the ball into the roof of the net.

A wretched spell was completed for Wednesday when Milner and Lampard combined again and Zayatte clumsily but unfortunately felled the latter. 

Toure stroked home the spot-kick with Kirkland sent the wrong way and Milner threatened to pile on further misery, leaving the increasingly beleaguered Mattock in his wake to strike the post.

Kirkland saved well to deny Milner the goal his performance deserved, but the Wednesday goalkeeper would be beaten three more times.

Dzeko completed his brace with thumping header on the end of Aleksandar Kolarov's 77th-minute cross and Pozo had a moment to remember two minutes from time as Navas again played the role of creator.

The sight of Lampard sliding home a typically crisp finish in stoppage time underlined what a shrewd piece of business his short-term acquistion appears to be for Pellegrini, as City emphatically booked their spot in round four.

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