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Manchester United led 2-0 inside 10 minutes at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. They were booed off 80 minutes later, out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle for the second season running, beaten 3-2 by a Brighton side that has now won five of its last six visits to the stadium.
Michael Carrick’s response to the collapse was to accept the blame for it and reject the idea that his job is in danger. “It genuinely doesn’t bother me one bit,” the head coach said of the pressure building around him. “What bothers me is winning games and having a good feeling around the place.”
Ten minutes of promise, an hour of unravelling
The start was everything United wanted. Shea Lacey, the 19-year-old winger making his first senior start nine months after a substitute debut against Aston Villa, collected the ball short on the right, cut inside and drilled a low finish into the bottom corner after eight minutes. Two minutes later Mason Mount followed in a Marcus Rashford shot that Jason Steele could only spill, and Old Trafford had the evening it had been promised.
It lasted until first-half stoppage time. Jaouen Hadjam’s long diagonal from deep dropped beyond Karl Darlow, and Charalampos Kostoulas got there first to roll in across the goalkeeper. Brighton went in a goal down and playing like the better side, which they duly became.
Pascal Gross equalised in the 65th minute, taking a headed clearance down and beating both his marker and Darlow with a composure nobody in a red shirt could match. Carrick had a triple substitution ready before the goal went in; by the time it was made, Brighton had refreshed too, and 69th-minute substitute Maxim De Cuyper turned in a Kostoulas cross-shot that deflected into his path within seconds of arriving.
The numbers around the defeat are brutal. United had led 2-0 at home 145 times before Wednesday and won 143 of them. Brighton became the first visiting side since 1976 to overturn a two-goal deficit and win at Old Trafford. Carrick did not hide behind any of it: “We can’t accept that as a group. I take responsibility for it.”
Why the pressure question will not go away
Carrick’s argument is coherent. He was appointed permanent head coach on a two-year deal in the summer, on the back of a top-five Premier League finish that returned United to the Champions League for the first time since 2023-24. Six matches into a season is not a verdict.
The problem is the shape of those six. United have won two: 5-2 against Ipswich Town at home, and 4-0 against Sabah in their Champions League opener. They lost 2-0 at Hull City on the opening weekend, drew 2-2 at Everton, lost 1-0 to Manchester City at Old Trafford and have now thrown away a two-goal lead in a cup tie against a team that made changes and still outplayed them. Four points from four league games leaves them 13th.
Carrick himself acknowledged the gap between the result and the reaction. “We’ve gone out of the cup tonight, and the feeling around the place feels bigger than that,” he said. “I’m honest enough to say that’s how it feels. But it doesn’t have to be like that. If we win football matches again, it can go in a different direction.”
That is the accurate reading. United have not lost a season in September. They have, though, spent three years discovering that Old Trafford’s patience is a function of results and nothing else, and a 2-0 lead surrendered at home is precisely the kind of evening that converts unease into something harder to reverse.
What happens next
The immediate diary is unforgiving in its timing. United travel to Fulham on Sunday, then break for three weeks of international football — a fortnight and more for the noise to sit unanswered if the result at Craven Cottage goes wrong.
- Premier League: 13th, four points from four games, one win
- Carabao Cup: eliminated in the third round, second successive early exit
- Champions League: opened with a 4-0 win over Sabah
- Next fixture: Fulham (a), Sunday
There were positives to take, and Lacey was the clearest of them: a teenager who looked like the most convincing attacking player on the pitch until the game was taken away from his team. Whether that counts for anything depends entirely on what Carrick’s side does at Fulham.
“We’ve got to win football matches and we can do,” he said. “I fully believe we will do.” On Wednesday’s evidence, belief is the only thing United are not short of.
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Sources used for verification (not part of the article): [Sky Sports match report](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11938/13582689/man-utd-2-3-brighton-michael-carricks-side-collapse-from-2-0-up-to-exit-carabao-cup-at-the-first-hurdle-once-again), [ESPN — Carrick takes responsibility](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49960667/michael-carrick-accept-manchester-united-showing-carabao-cup-exit-take-responsibility), [Yahoo Sports/PA](https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/michael-carrick-accepts-blame-manchester-224454031.html), [Forza Football — “not bothered” quotes](https://forzafootball.com/news/carrick-not-bothered-by-pressure-after-man-united-suffer-cup-shock-159450873), [Wikipedia — 2026–27 Manchester United season](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_Manchester_United_F.C._season).
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Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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