Southampton and Brentford needed late drama to see off Championship opposition during an entertaining night of Carabao Cup.
The Saints recovered from surrendering a two-goal lead against Stoke to win 3-2 courtesy of James Bree’s stunning 88th minute winner.
Meanwhile, Brentford’s progression to the quarter-finals of the competition was even more closely run as they saw off Sheffield Wednesday on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time at the Gtech Stadium.
Brentford and Southampton are the first two sides to secure their place in the last eight with 12 more teams in action on Wednesday night.
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Southampton 3-2 Stoke
The Saints looked set for a comfortable night when they raced into a two-goal lead after just over half an hour played.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed home after 15 minutes before Adam Armstrong found the net from the penalty spot after Jaden Dixon fouled Yukinari Sugawara.
But the Championship side halved the deficit before first half was finished through Tottenham loanee Ashley Phillips and drew level early in the second half when Thomas Cannon fired home.
Southampton, still winless in the Premier League, looked rocked by the equaliser as Stoke looked the more likely winner before Bree’s stunner out of nowhere.
The full-back found space with 25 yards out before driving the ball into the bottom corner for what proved to be a brilliant winner.
Brentford 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Kevin Schade put Brentford 1-0 up after 11 minutes, tapping into an empty net after his initial effort was saved by Pierce Charles before it bounced off the defender into the path of the German.
But Wednesday dealt another blow to Premier League opposition within the space of a few minutes when Djeidi Gassama found the net with a stunning drive from 35 yards out.
Neither side managed to find the winner before the 90 minutes was up, meaning a place in the quarter-finals of the competition would be decided by penalties.
A high quality shootout saw both sides emphatically dispatch their first four penalties each before, after Vitaly scored the Bees’ fifth, Mark Flekken was the hero when he saved Liam Palmer’s penalty down to his right to send the hosts through.
