League One Bristol City claimed the most impressive scalp of the evening in the second round of the Capital One Cup, defeating Premier League Crystal Palace 2-1.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Scott Wagstaff were on target for the underdogs, with Owen Garvan netting a last-minute reply for the Eagles.
Fulham suffered a scare at League Two Burton Albion, needing an extra-time equaliser from Hugo Rodallega and a penalty shootout to see off their tenacious opponents.
Tranmere Rovers goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams pulled off heroics during their penalty shootout win over Bolton Wanderers, stopping spot kicks from Andre Moritz and Alex Baptiste following a 1-1 draw at Prenton Park.
Birmingham City also needed penalties to see off Championship rivals Yeovil Town following an extraordinary 3-3 draw at Huish Park.
The entire Yeovil side stood aside to allow Lee Novak to score a equaliser unopposed to make up for an earlier act of unsporting behaviour.
Notts County took Liverpool to extra time by coming back from 2-0 down at Anfield, but goals from Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson sent the Reds into round three.
A superb comeback from Sunderland prevented them from suffering a similar fate at home to MK Dons, the Black Cats overturning a two-goal deficit to win 4-2.
Saido Berahino netted a treble as West Bromwich Albion cruised past Welsh minnows Newport County 3-0, while West Ham United were made to work for their 2-1 win over Cheltenham Town.
Hull City suffered a scare away to Leyton Orient, needing an extra-time winner from Matty Fryatt to put the League One side to the sword 1-0.
Southampton ran riot at Barnsley, winning 5-1, and Burnley defeated fellow Lancashire outfit Preston North End 2-0.
Peterborough United claimed an impressive 6-0 victory over Championship outfit Reading, in which Lee Tomlin put away two penalties to claim a hat-trick.
Norwich City were equally prolific in their 6-3 defeat of Bury, and there were braces for Chris Martin and Conor Sammon in Derby County's 5-0 demolition of Brentford.
Chris Wood bagged a hat-trick as Leicester City ran out 5-2 winners at Carlisle United, and Swindon Town pulled off an impressive 2-1 victory away to Queens Park Rangers.
Leeds United defeated Doncaster Rovers 3-1 in an all-Championship affair, and Huddersfield Town edged past Charlton Athletic 3-2.
Results in full: Barnsley 1-5 Southampton, Bristol 2-1 Crystal Palace, Burnley 2-0 Preston, Burton Albion 2-2 Fulham (4-5 on pens), Carlisle 2-5 Leicester, Derby 5-0 Brentford, Doncaster 1-3 Leeds, Huddersfield 3-2 Charlton, Leyton Orient 0-1 Hull City, Liverpool 4-2 Notts County, Norwich 6-3 Bury, Peterborough 6-0 Reading, QPR 0-2 Swindon, Sunderland 4-2 MK Dons, Tranmere 1-1 Bolton (4-2 on pens), West Ham 2-1 Cheltenham, Yeovil 3-3 Birmingham (3-2 on pens), West Brom 3-0 Newport County