Manchester United suffered a painful 3-2 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup, throwing away a two-goal advantage after an impressive opening 10 minutes.
Softfootball believes the defeat will raise further questions around Michael Carrick’s side after United appeared to be in complete control early on. Shea Lacey opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a powerful finish from outside the box before Mason Mount doubled the advantage two minutes later with a rebound into the top corner.
Brighton gradually recovered and pulled one back just before half-time. Jaouen Hadjam’s cross found Charalampos Kostoulas, who finished low to make it 2-1 and give Fabian Hurzeler’s side renewed belief.
Pascal Groß then completed the comeback in the 65th minute after Luka Vušković’s intelligent play created the opening inside the penalty area. Four minutes later, Maxim De Cuyper put Brighton ahead for the first time, finishing calmly after being played through by Kostoulas.
United pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages. Marcus Rashford came closest when he raced through one-on-one, but Jason Steele produced an important save to preserve Brighton’s lead.
Carrick introduced Bruno Fernandes, Joshua Zirkzee, Kobbie Mainoo, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha as United searched for a response, but Brighton held firm.
The defeat means United exit the Carabao Cup after surrendering a 2-0 lead. Reports noted that it was the first time in 50 years United had lost at home after leading by two goals.
Match Statistics
| Statistic | Man United | Brighton |
| Goals | 2 | 3 |
| Shots on Target | 5 | 7 |
| Shots Off Target | 8 | 1 |
| Blocked Shots | 5 | 0 |
| Possession | 50% | 50% |
| Corners | 4 | 3 |
| Offsides | 0 | 2 |
| Fouls | 5 | 14 |
| Throw-ins | 25 | 14 |
| Yellow Cards | 0 | 4 |
| Crosses | 1 | 5 |
| Goalkeeper Saves | 2 | 2 |
| Goal Kicks | 8 | 8 |
Manchester United Player Ratings
| Player | Rating |
| Karl Darlow | 4/10 |
| Diogo Dalot | 4/10 |
| Leny Yoro | 5/10 |
| Ayden Heaven | 5/10 |
| Noussair Mazraoui | 5/10 |
| Andrey Santos | 6/10 |
| Youri Tielemans | 7/10 |
| Shea Lacey | 8/10 |
| Mason Mount | 7.5/10 |
| Marcus Rashford | 6.5/10 |
| Benjamin Šeško | 6/10 |
| Joshua Zirkzee | 4/10 |
| Kobbie Mainoo | 5/10 |
| Bryan Mbeumo | 5/10 |
| Bruno Fernandes | 5/10 |
| Matheus Cunha | N/A |
Brighton Player Ratings
| Player | Rating |
| Jason Steele | 6/10 |
| Pascal Groß | 8/10 |
| Charalampos Kostoulas | 8/10 |
| Malick Yalcouyé | 7/10 |
| Luka Vušković | 7.5/10 |
| Matt O’Riley | 6.5/10 |
| Maxim De Cuyper | 8/10 |
