Capital One Cup: Winners and Losers from Tuesday Games

The first half of the Capital One Cup's third round is complete after eight teams advanced with victories on Tuesday night.

Jack Grealish inspired Aston Villa against an old rival, while Manchester City blew Sunderland away. Bournemouth escaped Preston North End with a win after a penalty shootout, and Leicester City needed extra time to beat West Ham United.

Here, B/R selects winners and losers from the night's action.

Full Results

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Aston Villa 1-0 Birmingham

Fulham 0-1 Stoke City

Hull City 1-0 Swansea City

Leicester City 2-1 West Ham United (after extra time)

Middlesbrough 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Preston North End 2-2 Bournemouth (2-3 on penalties)

Sunderland 1-4 Manchester City

Reading 1-2 Everton

Winner: Jack Grealish

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Rudy Gestede scored the winner for Aston Villa against rivals Birmingham City to settle the Second City derby, but Grealish was the undisputed star.

Following a first half that saw no goals and little quality, Villa manager Tim Sherwood introduced Grealish at half-time. The substitution changed the game. 

The moment the 20-year-old midfielder stepped onto the pitch, Villa were a team transformed. Sherwood's side immediately began to attack with intent, and the winning goal came in the 62nd minute. Grealish was inevitably at the heart of the move.

"Without Grealish #avfc looked clueless," B/R's Sam Tighe tweeted early in the second half, before the goal. "Now he's on the pitch they're looking irrepressible. So key to the side already."

After the goal, the Independent's Sam Wallace noted: "Jack Grealish has had a transformative effect on this cup tie: a modern midfielder with an old-school style. He saunters around the pitch."

Speaking to BBC Sport, Sherwood said:

"

We came here on a hiding to nothing tonight. I was proud how we went about it, we tried to play two different ways. In the first half we wanted to go very direct and in the second half to get between the lines and they couldn’t cope when Jack Grealish got between the lines. We always want to play fast flowing football but we can’t always do that.

"

The game finished 1-0, and the result could prove a boost for Villa, who have lost four of five in the Premier League and sit just above the relegation places.

Sherwood's men will try to keep the momentum going on Saturday, when they face a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool. 

Loser: Sunderland

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Sunderland lost, 4-1, at home to Manchester City to continue the club's awful start to the season.

The Black Cats currently sit at the bottom of the Premier League table with two points from their first six matches. Manchester City represented a tough draw in the Capital One Cup, but Sunderland hardly showed any fight after an admittedly bright beginning.

How bad was it? Even the club's official Twitter account called the team's first-half display a "horror show."

It might be the understatement of the season so far, but Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat has work to do.

Winner: Manuel Pellegrini

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Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini selected a strong starting XI for his side's visit to Sunderland. The Chilean refused to take any chances, and the move paid off.

With Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling all in the starting lineup, City tore through Sunderland and claimed a 4-0 lead at the break. The match was essentially finished, and City were able to waltz through the second half.

At that point, Pellegrini was able to start taking off starters and introducing young players for valuable experience. Off went Aguero, Yaya Toure and Jesus Navas. On came starlets Manu Garcia, George Evans and Patrick Roberts to see some (sort of) competitive action against a (sort of) Premier League side.

All in all, it was a good night for Pellegrini and his team, who can now look forward to visiting Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Winner: DeAndre Yedlin

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It might seem odd to list any Sunderland defender among Tuesday's winners. The Black Cats were generally awful against Manchester City, but United States international DeAndre Yedlin will be proud of his performance on his debut.

Making his first start for Sunderland, the pacy Yedlin created a few moments of danger down the right flank and eventually assisted a consolation goal.

It wasn't nearly enough to give his side a win, but Yedlin will look on this as a good learning experience against a top English opponent. The former Seattle Sounders man received a tough first assignment at Sunderland, but he passed.

Winner: Joe Dodoo

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Joe Dodoo scored again in Leicester City's 2-1 extra-time victory over West Ham United. The 20-year-old opened the scoring in the sixth minute, bringing his total in this competition to four goals in two games.

After netting a hat-trick against Bury in the previous round, Dodoo will be pleased to have kept up his run of efficient scoring form. According to Opta, the youngster scored four times with his first four shots on goal in the cup.

Winner and Possibly Loser: Everton

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Everton turned around a half-time deficit against Reading to win, 2-1, and advance to the fourth round. But it might have been a costly victory.

Defender John Stones, a key member of the Toffees' back line, limped out of the game early in the second half with an injury. According to Neil Jones at the Liverpool Echo, Stones left the game with a thigh problem and has given manager Roberto Martinez an injury scare ahead of upcoming games against West Bromwich Albion and—more worrisome—Liverpool.

Everton did well to overturn the deficit after playing poorly in the first half. But if Stones misses time with his injury, it could be a Pyrrhic victory for the Toffees.