Manchester United suffered a historic collapse at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, throwing away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to Brighton & Hove Albion and crash out of the Carabao Cup at the third-round stage for a second straight year.
A heavily rotated United side flew out of the blocks. Nineteen-year-old Shea Lacey, making his first senior start, needed just eight minutes to open the scoring, curling a shot beautifully into the near corner after taking the ball from captain Youri Tielemans. He became the first teenager to score on a first start for the club since Marcus Rashford achieved the feat back in 2016. United doubled their lead two minutes later when Rashford's initial effort was saved and Mason Mount buried the rebound to make it 2-0.
But United eased off, and Brighton made them pay. Charalampos Kostoulas pulled a goal back right before half-time, before Pascal Groß levelled in the 65th minute and Maxim De Cuyper completed the turnaround in the 69th minute, sending Old Trafford into stunned silence and loud boos from the home crowd.
It marked the first time in 50 years that United had held a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford and gone on to lose the match, a scenario they had previously avoided in 143 of 145 such occasions, with Tottenham Hotspur the last side to pull off the feat, back in 1976.
The result piles further pressure on manager Michael Carrick, coming just three days after United's 0-1 derby defeat to a 10-man Manchester City side. Carrick had made eight changes to his starting lineup for the cup tie, handing debuts to goalkeeper Karl Darlow and a first start to Lacey, while regular captain Bruno Fernandes watched from the bench.
Brighton advance to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, while United's early-season struggles under Carrick continue, with the club now facing renewed scrutiny after a difficult run of results across competitions.
