Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Manchester United have been eliminated from the Carabao Cup following a 3-2 defeat to Brighton on Wednesday night.
The pressure is set to mount on Michael Carrick following Manchester United’s crushing Carabao Cup third-round defeat to Brighton. It hurts more because the Reds got off to a flying start and wasted no time taking the lead.
Shea Lacey cut in from the right flank to score the opening goal from the edge of the box after just eight minutes. Two minutes later, Mason Mount doubled United’s lead over Brighton, but the Seagulls pulled one back before the break.
After the hour mark, Pascal Groß netted an equaliser, with United guilty of leaving too much space at the back and pressing too high after a hopeful long ball forward. Maxim De Cuyper made it 3-2 in the 70th minute. Without further ado, here are United In Focus’ winners and losers.
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Winners
Firstly, we’ve got just one winner from the match, considering United threw away a healthy lead.
Shea Lacey: Getting his first start of the season, Lacey opened his goalscoring account with a cracking finish to give United an early lead.
Lacey was sent off when he last faced Brighton last season in the FA Cup, but he made amends tonight and did very well to push United forward on the right flank. He also showed his ability to manoeuvre well in tight areas with the ball, as well as drawing fouls.
You couldn’t help but admire how Lacey got back up and recovered to win back possession after being knocked off the ball at the beginning of the second half. Ultimately, the United Academy graduate showed JJ Gabriel what he’s missing out on.
The youngster certainly took his first chance of the season. It gives Carrick more reason to give Lacey more minutes in Premier League matches because he was United’s best player on the pitch tonight – by a country mile.
Losers
Unfortunately, there are more losers to pick from than winners.
Benjamin Sesko: Although United fans were calling for Benjamin Sesko to return to the line-up, and got their wish tonight, the Slovenian striker did not have a night to remember.
Not only did he fail to offer anything up front, but Sesko was also at fault for Brighton’s equaliser because he was flat-footed for the long ball forward. He hardly contested for the ball, and it was headed back near the danger zone, with Groß given far too much space by United’s back four.
JJ Gabriel: As stated above, Lacey showed Gabriel what he’s missing out on by getting his head down and believing in the pathway created for him at United. That takes patience. Something those around Gabriel don’t appear to have in abundance, despite it being a key requirement for a young footballer his age.
Most footballers refer to their senior debut as the biggest moment in their careers. Regardless of the result, I can’t help but feel Gabriel blew that opportunity with his request to leave United earlier this week.
Karl Darlow: It started as a great night for Karl Darlow, making his United debut after moving to Old Trafford as a free agent in the summer.
The former Leeds stopper wasn’t busy by any means in the first half, but he was far too slow coming off his line as Charalampos Kostoulas scored on the brink of half-time. It could be argued that the referee should have blown his whistle when Sesko went down in the build-up.
Brighton keeper Jason Steele showed Darlow how it’s done when he came off his line to beat Sesko in a race for the ball.
Either way, there’s good reason why the 35-year-old’s performance against Brighton won’t fill many Reds with much confidence in the Welsh stopper.