Arsenal needed until extra-time to dispose of Tottenham, while Bolton suffered defeat at Burnley and Everton endured a Brentford upset.
Gunners dispose of Spurs; Trotters dumped out; Toffees beaten
Arsenal needed until extra-time to dispose of Tottenham 4-1, while Owen Coyle's Bolton suffered a shock defeat to Burnley in Carling Cup action on Tuesday night.
League One hosts Brentford also caused a major upset as they held struggling Everton to a 1-1 stalemate in regular time before dumping the Toffees out 4-3 on penalties.
Wolves managed to see off League One club Notts County in extra-time after their clash also went beyond the 90 minutes, while West Ham finally enjoyed a win as they eliminated Sunderland.
Stoke triumphed over Fulham at home while Birmingham claimed a comfortable victory over MK Dons with three goals in rapid succession, and there was more doom and gloom for League One clubs as Swansea saw off Peterborough United.
In other action, Ipswich disposed of Championship rivals Millwall and Leicester City knocked out floundering Portsmouth.
Bright start
Arsenal were quick out of the starting blocks at White Hart Lane as Henri Lansbury notched early on, but a Robbie Keane reply for
Tottenham in the second half sent the clash into extra-time.
But the Gunners then surged into action, with Samir Nasri netting back-to-back penalties before Andrey Arshavin added the insurance to the victory.
Bolton boss Coyle suffered a dismal evening at former club
Burnley, enduring a vicious reception from the Turf Moor home crowd before Wade Elliott's goal on the stroke of half-time condemned the Trotters to a 1-0 defeat.
Everton's miserable start to the campaign continued as they crashed out to League One outfit
Brentford on penalties.
The clubs tied at a 1-1 stalemate in regular time but the hosts dominated on spot-kicks to end the Toffees' League Cup ambitions.
Wolves also appeared set for an upset after they could only manage a 1-1 draw with
Notts County inside the 90 minutes, but a Kevin Doyle brace helped the Midlands side recover for a 4-2 victory in extra-time.
West Ham enjoyed some relief from their dismal start to the season as they clinched a 2-1 victory over
Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, with new-boy Victor Obinna proving the match-winner.
Danny Higginbotham was on target for
Stoke in the first half as they dumped fellow Premier League club
Fulham out of the tournament with a 2-0 triumph at the Britannia Stadium.
Birmingham notched three quick-fire goals all within four minutes in the opening half to seal a 3-1 defeat of League One outfit
MK Dons.
A Scott Sinclair hat-trick allowed
Swansea to dispose of League One side
Peterborough 3-1 on their visit to London Road.
Silenced
Ipswich silenced the
Millwall faithful at The Den as goals from Tamas Priskin and Gareth McAuley helped them to a 2-1 win.
Struggling
Portsmouth were ousted 2-1 by Championship rivals
Leicester City at Fratton Park, with the hosts unable to mount a significant comeback after Richard Hughes was dismissed in the 66th minute.
