Sports17 September, 20263 min read
Brighton & Hove Albion Beat Manchester United 3-2 After 2-0 Lead At Old Trafford
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Brighton overturned 2-0 deficit to beat United 3-2 at Old Trafford in Carabao Cup. United crash out of Carabao Cup third round after dramatic collapse under Carrick.
2-0 lead collapses
Manchester United crashed out of the League Cup after losing 3-2 to Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford, despite leading 2-0 inside ten minutes.
“He ran the game. He dominated Manchester United’s midfield.”
Shea Lacey scored in the eighth minute and Mason Mount doubled the advantage two minutes later, but Charalampos Kostoulas pulled one back in first-half stoppage time before Pascal Gross equalised in the 65th minute and Maxim De Cuyper hit the winner in the 69th.
Rediff said the last time United lost at home after leading by two goals was in September 1976, when Tottenham Hotspur won by the same scoreline, and it framed the defeat as a historic collapse at Old Trafford.
Fox Sports added that United went more than an hour without a shot on target after Brighton took control, and it quoted Jamie Redknapp saying, "He ran the game. He dominated Manchester United’s midfield."
Al Jazeera described it as United’s second successive home defeat after a wretched collapse in the third round at Old Trafford, leaving Michael Carrick shell-shocked as his team were booed off.
Carrick takes blame
After the collapse, Michael Carrick took responsibility for the second-half performance, telling Sky Sports television, "I take responsibility for it."
Rediff also reported that Carrick said, "The performance towards the end of the second half, that's on me," as United suffered their third successive domestic cup exit.
Al Jazeera said the defeat left Carrick under pressure to turn the tide at Fulham on Sunday, and it noted that a defeat in west London would leave United in a full blown crisis barely a month into the new campaign.
The same Al Jazeera report said the referees’ governing body admitted that VAR officials were wrong to allow City striker Erling Haaland’s winner in United’s controversial 1-0 home defeat on Sunday, and it said that left United with only one win from their first four Premier League matches.
Fox Sports said United fans booed the referee at the final whistle and quoted Sam Blitz saying, "It’s toxic at Old Trafford. Man United fans are singing: 'What the f*** was that?'"
Pressure and next match
Al Jazeera said the League Cup exit followed United’s controversial 1-0 home defeat against Manchester City on Sunday, and it tied the mounting scrutiny to United’s early-season record of only one win from their first four Premier League matches. It also said Carrick’s decision to make eight changes exposed the lack of depth in his squad, while noting that United were expected to oversee a title challenge after being appointed on a permanent basis. Rediff said the defeat added to United’s poor start to the season, including a recent Premier League loss to Manchester City, and it placed United in 13th with one win from four games.
Fox Sports said the pressure ramped up on Michael Carrick after the cup exit, and it connected the result to Sunday’s derby loss to ten-man City and to reports that 15-year-old JJ Gabriel wants to leave the club. Sports Illustrated framed the immediate stakes by pointing to United’s next chance to lift the mood when Brighton & Hove Albion visit in the Carabao Cup third round, while also noting that last season United were eliminated by League Two Grimsby Town in the second round on penalties.