Brentford did the double over Birmingham with a 5-0 thrashing to cement their play-off hopes and edge Blues nearer the Championship drop zone.
Two Ollie Watkins goals, one each from Florian Jozefzoon and Neal Maupay and a Marc Roberts own goal saw the Bees romp to an emphatic win in a scoreline that flattered Birmingham.
It was a nightmare first return to Griffin Park for Blues trio Harlee Dean, Maxime Colin and Jota, who all moved on August transfer deadline day.
It could have been a night to rival Brentford's 9-0 record win over Wrexham in 1963 but for a string of David Stockdale saves and some lacklustre finishing.
Below are five talking points to emerge from the contest.
Good things come in threes
Ollie Watkins, Neal Maupay and Florian Jozefzoon have started to form a lethal combination going forward.
The trio have been building an understanding in recent games and it is starting to produce in front of goal.
Jozefzoon's pace and ability with both feet means he can drift from the right wing to the left, while Watkins, who has looked jaded on occasions in recent weeks, has been reinvigorated and is back on song.
Maupay is back among the goals as well and is playing like someone who has had their confidence restored.
All three scored at least once and assisted a further goal, depending on whether you consider the fourth goal to be scored by the Frenchman or not.
Maupay brilliantly set up Jozefzoon for Brentford's second goal. The fourth goal was assisted by Watkins for the Frenchman. Jozefzoon teed up the former Exeter man for the fifth.
With Sergi Canos now back from suspension, it is hard to see the popular Spaniard breaking back into the starting XI if the trio keep performing like that. It's the same for Emiliano Marcondes.
Professional to the final whistle
Brentford had the game won going into second half stoppage time but there was no way Dan Bentley and the Bees defence were going to let their clean sheet be sullied.
The stopper made a fantastic save to deny Che Adams after Sam Gallagher had a shot blocked.
Had Birmingham had scored it'd have been a slight sour note but, with the game safe and bragging rights being exercised, not many Brentford fan would have cared.
Bentley would have done and, on a night where opposite number David Stockdale had a shocker, it showed his rising stock.
Credit must also go to the back four of Henrik Dalsgaard, John Egan, Andreas Bjelland and Yoann Barbet. They were all solid throughout the evening and two clean sheets in a row will certainly please all involved.
Woods makes a difference
It was only right after his performance at Sunderland that Josh McEachran kept his place in the side and it was a shame to see him forced off inside the first 20 minutes.
But Ryan Woods' introduction changed the flow of the game. The former Shrewsbury man is more adept breaking up play than McEachran and he stopped Birmingham's flow going forward.
That allowed Romaine Sawyers more space to thrive and the midfielder upped his game as well to show his quality as did Kamo Mokotjo.
Woods picked up his third assist of the season with a headed pass to Ollie Watkins, who fired home the opener.
There's an element of Claude Makelele in Woods' play. He doesn't run up high numbers when it comes to goals and assists but he helps make Brentford tick, much like the Frenchman did for Chelsea.
Biggest win of the season
The return of the Birmingham Three was always going to be a date eagerly awaited by Brentford fans, especially with the Blues struggling.
The Bees sold Jota, Harlee Dean and Maxime Colin to the Midlands side for a combined £12million.
They have also taken six points off Birmingham and sit 20 points above them in the league table.
Some Bees fans were wringing their hands over seeing three of the club's best players last season moving and the fact they all went to the same club was rather galling.
People outside the club were laughing and ridiculing Brentford's transfer business. If they weren't silenced after the 2-0 win at St Andrews they should be walking away with their tails between their legs now.
Welcoming party
There was always going to be banter directed towards the returning Birmingham players.
Brentford fans were unhappy about Harlee Dean's comment that this current Blues side were better than the Bees side that finished fifth. The defender, however, insisted in October that his words had been misinterpreted.
Dean was a constant target for abuse, while Maxime Colin and Jota were largely left alone. Colin was given the pantomime booing when he touched the ball, as was Jota. There was one moment when he was asked what the score was.
Given that the centre back gave 100 per cent from first kick to last, it felt wrong to see a good servant for the club be, practically, the sole target.
Even former Fulham man David Stockdale escaped relatively lightly. One of the best Brentford songs is when the fans sing 'It's all your fault' to a goalkeeper, especially after a howler. There's nothing they can respond with as they know it's true as well.
Stockdale was at fault for two goals, the first and the fourth, and the second error was one of the worst I've seen from a professional footballer. Instead, most of the focus was directed at Dean who, to his credit, was one of Birmingham's better performers.
Had the stick been spread around more evenly, it'd have felt more like banter. Instead, it looked as if those that never really liked Dean were relishing the chance to hammer him having had to bite their tongue over the last couple of seasons.
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