Brentford dominate possession to overcome Reading in cup clash

Callum Wilson scored inside three minutes and Fabio Carvalho added a second in first-half stoppage time as Brentford edged Reading 2–1 in the Carabao Cup third round. Both goals were created by Dango Ouattara. Paudie O’Connor’s second-half header cut the deficit, but Brentford held on for the away victory.

What the manager said

Speaking after the match at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, manager Keith Andrews confirmed Brentford’s intent to pursue silverware this season. “We took it very seriously in the last round and we did again tonight,” he stated. “It’s a serious competition for us, we want to go as far as we can. There’s no reason why we can’t. We’re going to attack it as hard as we can.”

Performance metrics and return from injury

The result marked Fabio Carvalho’s first goal since returning from a cruciate ligament injury sustained in November 2025. Brentford dominated possession at 70.9 per cent and registered 3.21 expected goals (xG). Mikkel Damsgaard created four chances in the final third, while Igor Thiago supplied additional attacking impetus after coming on as a substitute.

Next steps in the competition

Brentford will learn their fourth-round opponents during Wednesday night’s draw. The club exited the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage in each of the past two seasons. With fixture congestion looming, Andrews emphasized the importance of maintaining squad depth as injured players return to action.