Bournemouth are back in the last eight

Villa arrived at the Vitality with plenty of reasons to fancy their night and left with none of them standing. Bournemouth were ruthless from the first whistle, and by full time the scoreline read 3-0, a result that sends them through to a quarter-final at Anfield and ends an eight-season absence from this stage of the competition.

The win extends what The Guardian describes as an impressive run of results for Iraola's side, and a performance of this control against a Villa team with its own Premier League ambitions adds another marker to that form.

Sunderland survive a Brentford fightback

Across the country at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland needed every bit of composure they could find. According to The Guardian, the hosts raced into control with three goals inside a ten-minute spell, the kind of clinical burst that can decide a cup tie before it has properly started.

Brentford had other ideas in the second half, hauling themselves back into the contest with a rally that made the final score, 3-2, a good deal tighter than the scoreline at the hour mark suggested. Sunderland held their nerve and their lead, though, and the Bees' comeback attempt fell just short of forcing extra time.

Last eight takes shape

Both results reshape a Carabao Cup quarter-final lineup that will now include a Championship-era name in Sunderland alongside a Bournemouth side riding a strong run of form. For Bournemouth, the draw sends them to Anfield, about as big a stage as the competition can offer at this stage, and a fair test of whether the control they showed against Villa travels to Merseyside.