Holders Manchester City produced a ruthless second-half display to start their Capital One Cup defence with a thumping win over Sheffield Wednesday.

Frank Lampard tucked in James Milner's cross soon after the restart before Edin Dzeko swept in a pass from Jesus Navas, who added a ferocious drive.

Yaya Toure converted a penalty after Lampard was tripped by Kamil Zayatte.

He was sent off as Dzeko's header, Jose Angel Pozo's debut goal and another Lampard strike sank the Owls' 10 men.

Few would have predicted a seven-goal scoreline at the break after Championship side Wednesday held their own in a tight first half.

Premier League champions City put on a sluggish first-half display, but were a completely different proposition after the break as they swept aside the unfortunate visitors to set up a last-16 tie against Newcastle.

Once ex-England midfielder Lampard converted at the near post, City's hopes of a morale-boosting win never looked in doubt.

Draws against Arsenal and Chelsea, punctured by defeats against Stoke and Bayern Munich, have seen Manuel Pellegrini's side stutter in recent weeks.

So the home tie against the Yorkshire side presented the opportunity to restore some belief - which they duly achieved.

Many top-flight sides field weakened teams in the early rounds of the League Cup, but Pellegrini named a strong starting XI as City searched for their first win since beating Liverpool on 25 August.

Toure captained a side packed with internationals, including the likes of Lampard, Dzeko, Navas and Milner, who impressed again with his energy and quality in the final third.

The Owls are sixth in the Championship after losing only one of their opening 10 matches in all competitions and played with an air of confidence in the first half.

They were not afraid to commit players forward when they sensed the opportunity but were unable to seriously test home keeper Willy Caballero.

And that proved costly as City scored three goals in seven minutes after the restart to put the game beyond them.

Lampard opened the scoring with a timely arrival at the near post, then Dzeko lost his marker to collect Navas's cross and drill into the far corner.

That was quickly followed by Navas's thumping finish from inside the Owls area, before Zayatte was dismissed after he clumsily felled Lampard in the penalty area, with Toure finding the bottom corner with the spot-kick.

With the game won, Pellegrini introduced 18-year-old Spanish striker Pozo, who arrived from Real Madrid's academy two years ago.

And Lampard netted his third goal in four days, after equalising against former club Chelsea on Sunday, to send City into the last 16.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini:

"I think it was very important for Frank Lampard to score again. He's a very important player.

"I said after the game against Chelsea that he's an important player for our team.

"Maybe he's now 36 years old and he can't play three games in a row but he's a top player."

Sheffield Wednesday manager Stuart Gray:

"We had a seven-minute mad period where they scored three goals. It just shows the gulf between the Championship and a top-four Premier League team.

"They're world-class players and every mistake we made in that seven-minute period we got punished.

"I think two of the goals we were probably in their half and gave a sloppy pass away.

"After the sending off it was damage limitation."