Struggling Man Utd sent crashing out of Carabao Cup
by KickOff Reporter · KickOffManchester United’s poor start to the season continued as they lost 3-2 to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.
Teams: Manchester United v Brighton and Hove Albion
Result: 2-3
Scorers: Lacey (8'), Mount (10') / Kostoulas (45+1') , Groß (65'), De Cuyper (69')
The Red Devils came with redemption on their mind after Sunday’s disappointing defeat to rivals Manchester City, while the Seagulls looked to build on their 5-0 pasting of Coventry City.
Shea Lacey made the breakthrough on his first start after seven minutes played when he came short to the near side of the area and cut-inside to fire into the bottom-corner.
It continued to boil over for the Seagulls who succumbed again within a minute as Mason Mount pounced on a spill into the area by goalkeeper Jason Steele and fired home following a shot by Marcus Rashford.
Brighton managed to come alive following the disjointed opening-quarter and were inches away from reducing the tally after Malick Yalcoye played a quick one-two to get inside but dragged the final shot wide of the far corner.
The Seagulls indeed pulled a goal back on the stroke of halftime when Jaouen Hadjam delivered a superb long ball from deep to the far post for Charalampous Kostoulas to get ahead of Karl Darlow and rolled in across the bottom-corner.
Second Half:
Brighton continued to show courage in the second half and levelled matters when Luka Vuskovic beat Sesko to a high-ball and knocked it forward to Pascal Gross, who eliminated two defenders before firing past Darlow.
The Red Devils made a trio of changes in the 68th minute with Sesko, Lacey, and Andrey Santos sacrificed for Bryan Mbeumo, Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo to come on the park.
The changes didn’t aid their cause as the visitors grabbed the lead for the first time in the match three minutes later when substitute Maxim de Cuyper collected a cutback from Kostoulas and drilled into the near corner.
Rashford got a golden chance to level it up within the final ten minutes with a clear one-on-one after latching onto a through pass, but the bravery of Steele prevented the forward from restoring parity.
The Red Devils pushed a lot of numbers to their attack in the quest to level matters despite becoming susceptible to the counter-attack, but there were no further goals as the Seagulls snatched victory and eliminated the six-time League Cup champions.
Upcoming Fixtures:
Manchester United:
1. Fulham (A)
2. Tottenham Hotspur (H)
3. Atletico Madrid (A)
4. Leeds United (A)
5. Como (A)
Brighton:
1. Arsenal (H)
2. Sunderland (H)
3. Kauno Zalgirls (H)
4. Crystal Palace (A)
5. Jablonec (A)