Analysis: ‘Consummate professional’ Jensen sets the tone as Brentford beat Grimsby | OneFootball

Stand-in captain Mathias Jensen set the tone as Brentford swept aside Grimsby Town 5-0 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, a victory that kept the Bees' hopes of reaching a first major cup final alive.

Handed the armband at Blundell Park, Jensen broke the deadlock with a gorgeous shot from the edge of the box on 22 minutes and the Bees didn't look back. Goals from Keane Lewis-Potter and Reiss Nelson made it 3-0 to the visitors at the break, and Fábio Carvalho's penalty and a thumping Nathan Collins header sealed a place in the quarter-final.

The Premier League side's quality told on the night, but there was also a hunger and tenacity to Brentford's work, and Jensen's opening goal was a perfect example.

David Artell's side top League Two for average possession, but when the Mariners tried to play out, Carvalho’s ferocious press forced a high turnover - and Jensen made no mistake from 20 yards after being found by Lewis-Potter.

Now the Bees' second-top scorer this season, with three goals, the 29-year-old Dane finished the game with three key passes, three accurate crosses, six accurate long balls and 61 passes completed. Head coach Keith Andrews afterwards labelled him a “consummate professional.”

Jensen was one of four Bees to register both a goal and an assist in Lincolnshire, and the application and quality shown by a much-changed starting XI will have delighted their manager.

Andrews mentioned the importance of mentally preparing his side to face giant-killing Grimsby, who had already knocked Manchester United out on penalties in the second round, and there was devil in the detail of Brentford's performance.

The perfectly executed press that led to the Bees' first goal; Reiss Nelson's imagination to knock the ball past his man for Brentford's second; Keane Lewis-Potter's dummy prior to the penalty that crushed any hopes the Mariners had of a comeback - such moments of excellence accumulated over the course of a convincing display.

Hampered by illness and injury in the early part of this season, Arsenal loanee Nelson was a bright spark all evening. The former England Under-21 international scored arguably the goal of the night with a gorgeous low finish after bright interplay on the edge of the box, and three successful take-ons underlined his undoubted 1v1 quality.

There were strong showings all over the pitch, but Nelson's fellow wideman Lewis-Potter also shone. The versatile 24-year-old was deployed in a more advanced role on the right and allied industry with "real quality" in the eyes of his head coach.

A key pass and a successful take-on from substitute Romelle Donovan, in an exciting cameo, further outlined the stiff competition for places - and, on current form, the Bees will fancy their chances no matter who they draw in the quarter-final.