Newcastle United 6 Preston North End 0: Mitrovic leads EFL Cup rout in front of HUGE crowd

Rafa Benitez's much-changed side convincingly beat their Championship rivals 6-0 at St James's Park in front of a 49,042 crowd.

The gate for the fourth-round tie was just 860 short of the club's all-time League Cup attendance record, which was set in 1976 for the home leg of a semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Aleksandar Mitrovic and Mohamed Diame both netted twice for Newcastle, and Matt Ritchie and Ayoze Perez also scored against 10-man Preston, who had Alan Browne sent off for a wild first-half challenge on Jack Colback.

Mitrovic opened the scoring for the Championship leadfers in the 19th minute with a header from a Ritchie free-kick.

Diame made it 2-0 before the break after seizing on a loose ball. The midfielder struck a low shot past Anders Lindegaard from just outside the box.

Preston were awful in the first half, and it got worse for Simon Grayson's side after the interval.

Ritchie won and converted a penalty early in the second half, and Mitrovic, making only his third start of the season, scored his second of the net in the 55th minute from close range.

Diame beat Lindegaard from almost 30 yards in three minutes from time, and substitute Perez completed the route in the 90th minute with a shot from just inside the box.

It was the second time this season the club had won 6-0.

Benitez's side beat Queens Park Rangers by the same scoreline at Loftus Road in a Championship fixture last month.

United will discover their quarter-final opponents tomorrow night.

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Sels; Yedlin, Mbemba, Hanley, Dummett (Anita, 58); Hayden, Colback (Shelvey, 32); Ritchie (Perez, 75), Diame, Atsu; Mitrovic. Subs not used: Darlow, Clark, Gouffran, Gayle.

PRESTON NORTH END: Lindegaard, Wright, Huntington, Davies (Clarke, 46), Humphrey, Grimshaw, Pringle (Gallagher, 46), Browne, Spurr, Doyle, Makienok (Johnson, 63). Subs not used: Maxwell, Robinson, Hugill, Beckford.

Goals: Mitrovic 19, 55, Diame 38, 87 Ritchie 52 (pen), Perez 90

Bookings: Doyle 19, Wright 52, Mitrovic 58

Sent off: Browne 27

Referee: Andrew Madley (Huddersfield)

Attendance: 49,042