It goes from bad to worse for Manchester United.
Manager Michael Carrick was already under a fair bit of pressure heading into this Carabao Cup third round clash after their indifferent early-season form and especially coming off the back of a toothless display as they lost the Manchester derby on Sunday.
So the last thing he or his players needed was to throw away a two-goal lead and deepen the malaise at Old Trafford. Brighton’s epic comeback ensured an unwanted record for Carrick’s men – this was the first time United had led by two goals at home only to go on and lose since a 3-2 reverse to Spurs half a century ago.
It didn’t start that way, though. United were out of the blocks at a rapid pace, and found themselves 2-0 up before the clock had even hit the ten-minute mark.
Amid all the noise and bluster about wonderkid JJ Gabriel wanting out of United, another teen prodigy used this as his moment to shine. Shea Lacey, 19, scored his first senior goal on his first senior start thanks to a lovely piece of control and smart finish from just inside the Albion box.
United were then in dreamland a minute later when fierce pressing led to Brighton’s defence surrendering possession in their own box and it eventually led to Mason Mount being able to drill home a second goal from close range.
That should have been the signal for Carrick’s men to push on but instead Brighton slowly grew into the contest and Charalampos Kostoulas halved the deficit just before half-time after slack defending from the hosts.
They then drew level when Pascal Gross – who was excellent all evening – showed cute control and produced a tidy finish to stun Old Trafford. The visitors then completed the turnaround after some brilliant pressing that saw it land at the feet of Maxim de Cuyper and he made no mistake.
Jason Steele then made a terrific, sprawling save down the other end to deny Marcus Rashford in what was a rare United attack. If any team was likely to notch again, it was actually Albion and that they didn’t have a greater margin of victory was purely down to home stopper Karl Darlow who was alert enough to keep the score respectable for the hosts.
Boos greeted the full-time whistle as United exited the League Cup at the first hurdle for the second season running.
And as bad as United were, it’s worth noting how good Brighton played (first ten minutes aside). They pressed all night and stitched together some wonderful passages of play. This win made it five victories in their last six trips to Old Trafford – a happy hunting ground for this side.
Safe to say manager Fabian Hurzeler was content with what he saw. “Every win is satisfying,” the German beamed. “What we showed today was belief. We always stick to the match plan but we didn’t start well. But what we had was real belief to come back.
“The boys kept going and the longer it went the more we grew into the game. It’s all about momentum in these games. Luckily it was on our side today. We had a good intensity and our pressing brought us to 2-2.
“The boys showed so much character and I have to give them big praise today.”
Under-fire Carrick reflected: “We ended up with a pretty disappointing night. It’s obvious for me to say that. We accept that. We can’t be in a position like that and lose the game in that manner. I’ll understand the disappointments and frustrations. I accept that. That’s on me. It’ll need to be better than that.”
United head to Fulham on Sunday for their final game before the elongated international break. Already, that feels massive.
Carrick added: “We have to find the answers for Sunday.”
