A disastrous second-half capitulation saw Man Utd exit the Carabao Cup at the third round. Leading two nil up after ten minutes, they seemed to be in cruise control. They lost all control after to a record their second home loss in a week.
It was delight for the visitors though. The chance of replicating last season’s FA Cup win here last season seemed remote after the opening stages. They stormed back to progress at our expense though.
Michael Carrick elected to make a number of changes from the side who lost the Manchester derby. Karl Darlow made his first competitive appearance for the club, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven started together in central defense, Andrey Santos made his first start since the loss to Hull, and Mason Mount came back in. Shea Lacey made his first start for the club.
Fabian Hurzeler made six changes from their convincing win at Coventry on Sunday. Jason Steele got a rare start in goal while Pascal Struijk and Chema Andres also started.
Given the loss at the weekend, it was necessary to start with a bang. And Shea Lacey lit up the occasion. Patient buildup from Marcus Rashford and Noussair Mazraoui finally lead to the ball coming to Youri Tielemans. He fed the young attacker who cut inside and curled it beyond the reach of Jason Steele. Given recent drama regarding JJ Gabriel, it was a welcome moment.
And it got better almost straight away. Brighton gave away the ball at the back from the kick-off and it came out to Marcus Rashford. He cut inside and fired goalwards. Steele got a hand to it but only succeeded in putting it back into a dangerous area. Mason Mount hit it into the ground and it bounced over the stranded keeper. It was his first goal since scoring against Wolves last November.
The away side were rocked by the start but started to get back into the game. They should have pulled one back on the half-hour. Loose play in midfield allowed Pascal Gross the space to release Malick Yalcouye straight through on goal. Ayden Heaven got back to sufficiently put him off and the effort went past the post.
They then saw two efforts in quick succession. Firstly, Tielemans produced an excellent tackle to deny Charalampos Kostoulas. Then Ayden Heaven produced a strong block to stop a shot from Matt O’ Reilly before Gross put the rebound over.
It appeared that Utd had done enough to maintain the lead at half-time when the visitors struck. They won the ball high up the pitch when Benjamin Sesko was not strong enough in a challenge. Jaouem Hadjam pinged a pass from near the half-way line towards Kostoulas. He got ahead of Heaven and slotted past Karl Darlow from an angle. The keeper should have done better but the seagulls had the response they wanted.
The reds looked to have recovered from that blow after the break. Tielemans produced a smart turn to get away before skying his shot. Then a short back-pass by Hadjam put Steele in danger. He was able to get out to clear it away before Sesko reached it. The striker looked slow off the mark though.
Carrick was readying substitutions when the visitors got themselves level on 65 minutes. The home side were guilty of overplaying it at the back before a loose clearance by Diogo Dalot towards Sesko who had dropped deeper. Luka Vuskovic rose above him to head it forward to Gross. The midfielder was left in open space to take a touch and shoot past Darlow.
Unbelievably, they were ahead four minutes later. Sub Diego Gomez was allowed to advance far too easily before slipping in Kostoulas on the edge of the area. The Greek forward side footed into the path of Maxim De Cuyper who slotted home. It was his first piece of action since coming off the bench.
Carrick had played all his cards from the bench and it almost paid dividends on 81 minutes. Kobbie Mainoo picked up the ball in midfield before passing it to Bruno Fernandes. He slipped it through to Rashford who was one on one with Steele. The keeper narrowed the angle but the winger should have done better than put it past the post.
Kostoulas and Gomez had chances to kill the game entirely in the closing stages to be denied by Darlow. It was not required though as they saw out the game. Fierce boos on the final whistle as the players trudged off the pitch. It has been a desperate week for the club and more pressure heaped upon the manager. It is critical that they respond positively against Fulham on Sunday. The high-scoring seagulls take on the reigning champions on Saturday.
Manchester United: Karl Darlow, Diogo Dalot, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven, Noussair Mazraoui, Youri Tielemans (Bruno Fernandes 73), Andrey Santos (Kobbie Mainoo 66), Mason Mount, Shea Lacey (Bryan Mbeumo), Marcus Rashford (Matheus Cunha 80), Benjamin Sesko (Joshua Zirkzee 66).
Subs not used: Senne Lammens, Harry Maguire, Tyler Fletcher, Harry Amass.
Booked:
Sent Off: None
Brighton & Hove Albion: Jason Steele, Costinha, Luka Vuskovic, Pascal Struijk, Jaouem Hadjam, Chema Andres, Olivier Boscagli, Pascal Gross, Matt O’ Reilly, Charalampos Kostoulas, Zadok Yalcouye.
Subs not used: Bart Verbruggen, Lewis Dunk, Georgino Rutter, Promise David, Ibrahim Osman, Ferdi Kadioglu, Diego Gomez, Maxim De Cuyper, Yasin Ayari.
Booked: Chema Andres (43), Jaouem Hadjam (59), Yasin Ayari (85), Maxim De Cuyper (90+1)
Sent Off: None
Referee: Ferai Hallam
Attendance: 73,670
Simply Red Man of the Match: Pascal Gross
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