Spectacular Carlos Baleba effort helps Brighton past Wolves in Carabao Cup

Carlos Baleba thunderous 30-yard strike set Brighton on course for a nervy 3-2 win over Premier League rivals Wolves in the Carabao Cup third round.

Cameroon midfielder Baleba rifled home his maiden Seagulls goal in the 19th minute before Simon Adingra doubled the lead at the Amex Stadium with another eye-catching effort.

Wolves vastly improved after Goncalo Guedes’ 44th-minute strike change the momentum. But were made to pay for their profligacy as Ferdi Kadioglu’s late finish gave Albion breathing space.

Tommy Doyle reignited hope of forcing a penalty shootout by firing home via the underside of the crossbar in added time before the hosts held on to maintain their unbeaten start under head coach Fabian Hurzeler.

Brighton made eight changes following Saturday’s frustrating goalless draw with Ipswich, while only Joao Gomes retained his starting spot for Wanderers after Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Newcastle.

Baleba, one of the three Seagulls players to keep their place, stylishly opened the scoring in the 14th minute.

The 20-year-old dispossessed Gomes deep in opposition territory before bending into the bottom-left corner from range and celebrating the ยูฟ่าเบท milestone strike with a cartwheel and a backflip.

Albion had the ball in the net again nine minutes later but Yankuba Minteh was offside when he turned home after Evan Ferguson’s initial effort struck Jose Sa and squirmed towards goal.

Wolves forward Guedes forced Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele to turn his powerful strike behind on the half-hour mark before the visitors fell further behind a minute later.

After afford time and space on the left wing. Adingra cut inside to rifle into the bottom right corner from the edge of the D.