MK Dons 1, Swansea City 4
Tammy Abraham scored his first goal for the club as a strong Swansea City side came from behind to beat MK Dons and move into the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Leroy Fer also grabbed a brace to seal the Swans’ first victory of the season after Southampton loanee Ryan Seager had put the hosts ahead with his first goal for the club.
Fer then headed home twice, before Abraham’s maiden Swans goal and a solo effort from Jordan Ayew completed a comfortable victory for Paul Clement’s side.
It was not all good news for Clement, however, as defender Kyle Bartley was taken off on a stretcher after an awkward landing.
The result, though, will be a welcome confidence boost for Swansea, who had not scored a goal in their opening two Premier League games and who had lost 4-0 at home to Manchester United last Saturday.
It is also an encouraging step forward for both Abraham and Ayew who are likely to form the attacking fulcrum at Crystal Palace again this weekend, should Fernando Llorente remain injured.
MK Dons boss Robbie Neilson initially made eight changes from Saturday’s win over Gillingham but that became seven as Seager came in after Kieran Agard was withdrawn following the warm-up.
It was Seager who would open the scoring with a smart finish after 17 minutes, only for Fer to level a with a powerful header a little over two minutes later, before the visitors took control.
Abraham spurned a superb chance to open the scoring inside eight minutes but chipped his shot wide of goal when well placed.
The hosts struck with their first decent chance of the evening, Seager finishing well after being played in by Robbie Muirhead.
But Clement’s Swans, showing only four alterations from the loss to Manchester United, hit back almost immediately as Fer headed Jay Fulton’s cross past Wieger Sietsma in the Dons’ goal.
Angel Rangel, captaining the visitors, then sent his own header wide but did sting the palms of Sietsma just after the half-hour mark as Swansea started to dominate possession.
Ed Upson had the best chance for MK Dons before the interval but Kristoffer Nordfeldt was equal to his low drive.
Swansea continued to enjoy plenty of the ball after the break as Ayew’s rasping shot was turned behind, with Fer putting the Premier League outfit ahead with his second header of the night.
Chelsea loanee Abraham grabbed his first Swansea strike, tapping in Ayew’s cross, with the Ghana international scoring the best goal of the night to cap an impressive display.