Manchester United exited the Carabao Cup in the third round for a second season following a 3-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford yesterday.
The Red Devils raced into a comfortable 2-0 lead in just the 10th minute. Shea Lacey scored a brilliant debut goal before Mason Mount doubled the advantage.
However, United still didn’t progress to the fourth round after some lacklustre defending.
Brighton secured a well-deserved 3-2 comeback victory in the end. Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven had performances to forget in the heart of the defence.
Alongside the duo, there were several underperformers, including Benjamin Sesko, who struggled to capitalise on a rare starting opportunity this campaign.
Matheus Cunha had an uneventful Manchester derby as a number nine for United, which contributed to Carrick opting for Sesko to lead the line against Brighton.
However, the Slovenian struggled to impose himself upfront. He completed just eight passes and lost possession on 13 occasions before his 66th-minute substitution.
The talented striker was slow in his decision-making at different stages of the game, and there was one counter-attack where he almost stood still with possession of the ball.
Sesko ended the game with just 23 touches, winning only 50 percent of his aerial duels (3/6). One of those aerial challenges lost partly contributed to Brighton’s equaliser from Pascal Gross.
In our view, the former RB Leipzig man has left Carrick with an easy striker decision to make when the Red Devils travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.
Sesko has been more effective coming off the bench since Carrick took charge in January, and we could see something similar when the Red Devils take on the Cottagers this weekend.
Cunha will most likely retain the striker’s position. The other option would be to play Bryan Mbeumo upfront with Cunha on the left wing and Marcus Rashford on the right.
The game appears a must-win for Carrick after two straight losses. United are eight points behind league leaders Arsenal, and failing to beat Fulham could see Carrick sacked.
Stats from Sofascore.com