Diego Gomez scored four goals, including a stunning first-half hat-trick, as Brighton cruised into the Carabao Cup fourth round with a 6-0 win at Barnsley.
The Paraguay midfielder, signed from Inter Miami in January, provided an emphatic finish for Brighton’s early opener and followed up with two spectacular efforts to put the game to bed inside the 33rd minute.
He slid home his fourth in the second half, with substitutes Harry Howell and Yasin Ayari also on target as the Seagulls, who breezed to a 6-0 win at Oxford in the previous round, reached the competition’s last 16 for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
Brighton, who made eight changes from the side which started in Saturday’s 2-2 home draw against Tottenham, should have taken a fifth-minute lead.
Stefanos Tzimas was foiled by Mael de Gevigney’s brilliant last-ditch tackle after being sent clear by Gomez’s defence-splitting pass.
The Seagulls then struck the opener with their next chance in the ninth minute. Tom Watson latched on to Carlos Baleba’s deflected shot and laid the ball square in the penalty area for Gomez to drill home a low first-time finish.
Barnsley remained full of purpose going forward and De Gevigney headed captain Luca Connell’s free-kick over the crossbar.
But Brighton assumed full control when Gomez arrowed a blistering shot into the roof of the net from the right edge of the penalty area after being picked out again by summer signing Watson in the 21st minute.
Gomez completed his 22-minute hat-trick with another thunderbolt from even greater distance 12 minutes later.
This time it was a thumping volley, after Barnsley debutant Jake Rooney’s headed clearance bounced to him 30 yards out, which arced over helpless goalkeeper Murphy Cooper.
Brighton’s 1,500-strong travelling fans urged the South American to shoot every time he touched the ball thereafter.
It appeared to be a damage limitation exercise in the second half for Conor Hourihane’s side, currently sixth in Sky Bet League One.
Cooper turned away Baleba’s goalbound effort and Barnsley defender Jack Shepherd brilliantly headed clear Tzimas’ angled shot from under the crossbar.
Barnsley lifted their fans through Davis Keillor-Dunn’s audacious 40-yard effort, which skimmed the crossbar, before a rising left-footed shot from substitute Jonathan Bland struck a post.
Moments later Gomez added Brighton’s fourth, a cool low finish after running on to Danny Welbeck’s through-ball in the 68th minute, and he was serenaded off the pitch when replaced by Howell soon after.
Howell struck Brighton’s fifth three minutes from the end, rifling a low finish from the edge of the box into the bottom corner, before Ayari lashed home from Diego Coppola’s assist to complete the scoring.
