Stansfield helps Fulham past his former Blues
Jay Stansfield was on target against former club Birmingham City as Fulham swept aside its EFL League One host with a routine 2-0 victory in the Carabao Cup second round.
Marco Silva's Premier League side fell short against Liverpool in the semi-finals of this competition last season, but made another good start to the new cup campaign after easing to victory at St. Andrew's.
Raul Jimenez opened the scoring with a 10th-minute penalty, awarded for handball against Alex Cochrane, before Birmingham was undone by a familiar face just four minutes later.
Striker Stansfield spent last season on loan with the Blues and, owing to that spell, refused to celebrate after profiting from Joachim Andersen's long pass before finishing with a clinical edge.
Birmingham could find no second-half response as Fulham progressed into the third-round draw, with the Cottagers' next task a trip to Ipswich Town in the Premier League at the weekend.
Fulham has progressed from 12 of its past 15 Carabao Cup ties against sides from a lower division, including this win and both such matches last term against East Anglian duo Norwich City and Ipswich.
This outcome was somewhat expected, considering Fulham has won its past six games in all competitions against Birmingham by an aggregate score of 16-3.
Birmingham, meanwhile, has lost at this stage in its past four attempts – 2017-2018, 2021-2022, 2023-2024 and this season.
