Manchester United’s Carabao Cup third round tie against Brighton and Hove Albion was supposed to be a straightforward evening of squad rotation and fringe players making their case. Instead it produced one of the most alarming collapses seen at Old Trafford in decades, United throwing away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 after extra time and, in the process, losing a record that had stood for half a century.
United had gone into the tie having won 143 of their previous 145 matches in which they led 2-0 at home, a run stretching back to a 3-2 defeat by Tottenham in September 1976. By the time Maxim De Cuyper wheeled away in celebration on 69 minutes, that record was gone, and Michael Carrick was left facing the sort of scrutiny that follows a home defeat to a heavily rotated Premier League rival in a competition United have now exited at the first hurdle for the second year running.
A Dream Start Turns Sour
The early signs pointed nowhere near the eventual outcome. Nineteen year old Shea Lacey, making his full senior debut, cut in from the right onto his favoured left foot inside eight minutes and finished coolly past Jason Steele to send Old Trafford into raptures. Mason Mount doubled the lead barely a minute later, and for a spell United looked every bit the side expected to cruise into round four.
Lacey’s introduction was one of the few unambiguously positive threads to come out of the night. A boyhood United supporter from Liverpool who joined the club’s academy at seven and won the U18 Premier League title with the club’s youth side, he had been tipped as one of the more promising forwards to emerge from Carrington in recent years. Scoring on his full debut, in front of his own supporters, will not have gone unnoticed by Carrick even amid the wreckage of the result.
What followed, though, was as damaging as the opening ten minutes had been encouraging. United registered no further shot on target until the 76th minute, retreating into a passive shape that allowed Brighton, who made six changes of their own, to grow steadily into the contest. Charalampos Kostoulas pulled a goal back in first half stoppage time following uncertain goalkeeping from Karl Darlow, and the warning signs from that moment were largely ignored.
Brighton’s front foot approach after the break brought its reward. Pascal Gross levelled from close range in the 65th minute, and De Cuyper completed the turnaround four minutes later, sweeping in from the edge of the box as United’s defence stood off him. Marcus Rashford had the clearest chance to force extra time level again but could not beat Steele one on one, and although the game went beyond ninety minutes, there was no way back for the home side.
Carrick Takes the Blame but Stands Firm
Michael Carrick did not shy away from responsibility afterwards. “We can’t accept that as a group. I take responsibility for it,” he told Sky Sports, adding that he understood why supporters inside Old Trafford had turned on the team as the collapse unfolded. “I totally understand the feelings of the supporters. It’s on me ultimately, as a team what we look like, how we play and what results you get.”
Brighton’s head coach Fabian Hurzeler was understandably happier with proceedings, praising his side’s response to going behind early. “When you’re 2-0 down you can go in one direction or believe in yourself and the match plan,” he said. “We completely controlled the game.”
Carrick’s own position has become a talking point since the derby defeat by Manchester City earlier this month, and this result has only sharpened it. Asked directly about sack pressure, he was unmoved. “I don’t feel under pressure. Either way, that doesn’t bother me one bit,” he said. “I understand what goes on outside and how the world works, but it doesn’t bother me.”
It is worth remembering the context that brought Carrick this far. Handed the job on an interim basis in January after Ruben Amorim’s departure, he was widely credited with rescuing United’s season, winning 12 of 17 matches to steer the club back into the Champions League. That goodwill has not evaporated overnight, but three defeats from United’s first six matches this season, allied to a cup exit as chastening as this one, mean the margin for further slip ups looks considerably smaller than it did in the summer.
Where United Stand Now
The defeat leaves United without a route back into the Carabao Cup this season and firmly focused on steadying their Premier League form. They currently sit in the bottom half of the table having taken four points from their opening four matches, a modest return for a club with United’s resources and recent Champions League ambitions.
Attention now turns to Sunday’s trip to Fulham, a fixture that has taken on considerably more significance than it would have carried twenty four hours ago. Another poor result at Craven Cottage would only intensify the questions being asked of Carrick, while a strong response would go some way to easing the mood that has settled over Old Trafford since Wednesday night.
For a club that has spent much of the past two years trying to rediscover consistency, nights like this one are a reminder of how quickly momentum can turn. United had the perfect start against Brighton and somehow contrived to finish the night with nothing to show for it. Carrick will know better than most that at a club of United’s size, patience tends to run out quickly when performances like that one keep repeating themselves.
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