Gomez nets four as Brighton beat Barnsley to reach Cup fourth round

Diego Gomez scored four goals as Brighton Hove Albion rolled to a 6-0 victory over Barnsley at Oakwell on Tuesday to book a place in the Carabao Cup fourth round. The Paraguay midfielder, signed from Inter Miami in January, produced a sensational first-half hat-trick and added a second-half finish as Brighton reached the last 16 for the fifth time in six seasons.

Brighton opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Tom Watson reacted to a deflected Carlos Baleba effort and laid the ball across the area for Gomez to drill home. The former MLS player then arrowed a spectacular strike into the roof of the net from the right edge of the box in the 21st minute and completed his first-half treble with a thunderous long-range volley midway through the period, sealing a hat-trick inside 24 minutes. Gomez slid home his fourth in the 68th minute after running on to a Danny Welbeck through-ball. Substitutes Harry Howell and Yasin Ayari added late goals to round off the rout.

Manager Fabian Hurzeler hailed Gomez’s performance as "unbelievable," praising the midfielder’s finishing and work in training. "We are pleased we had Diego in such unbelievable shape tonight," Hurzeler said. "He...