Manchester City 2 Birmingham 0

Owen Hargreaves scored on his Manchester City debut as holders Birmingham went out of the Carling Cup.

Blues were effectively beaten by half-time after Hargreaves' stunner opened the scoring in the 17th minute, before Mario Balotelli put the home side in command before the break.

Hargreaves hadn't kicked a competitive ball since a 10-minute appearance for Manchester rivals United against Wolves at Old Trafford last November, but rifled a loose ball into the net from around 25 yards.

Seven minutes before half-time it was as good as over, when Aleksandar Kolarov crossed for Balotelli to steer the ball past goalkeeper Colin Doyle and seal Blues' exit from the Carling Cup.

The best the cup holders could muster in response was a Curtis Davies effort, that would have been the equaliser at 1-0, that Kolo Toure cleared off the line.