This is not just a defeat. For Manchester United, the defeat to Brighton in the Carabao Cup also raises familiar issues that have appeared under many coaches.
Michael Carrick also did not avoid that reality. After his team was eliminated, he admitted to feeling disappointed, in the context that Man United once again lost the lead and left the tournament in an unacceptable way.
This scenario evokes Man United's defeat to Grimsby under Ruben Amorim last season. At that time, the defeat in the Carabao Cup was considered one of the signs that Amorim's reign was starting to decline. Now, Carrick is facing a similar situation.
More notably, Brighton continues to become an opponent that makes the "Red Devils" have a headache. This team once defeated Man United in the FA Cup earlier this year, in the last match before Carrick returned to Old Trafford and helped Man United have a short period of revival. This time, history seems to repeat itself.
Pascal Gross is a special character in that story. 4 years after scoring a double at Old Trafford, the German midfielder continued to score against Man United. During that time, Gross and Brighton won tickets to European cups, before moving to Borussia Dortmund and then returning to their old club.
Meanwhile, Man United has spent about 365 million pounds to recruit 7 new central midfielders, but Gross still plays an important role in the Brighton midfield. About 140 million pounds of the above amount was spent by Man United for Youri Tielemans, Mason Mount and Andrey Santos. Carlos Baleba, a deal worth about 70 million pounds, even had to witness his old team defeat his new team from the stands.
Those numbers further highlight the question of Man United's investment efficiency.
Former midfielder Jamie Redknapp also pointed out the fitness and defensive ability of the Old Trafford team. Although Carrick changed up to 9 positions compared to the regular lineup playing in the Premier League, Brighton also had 6 changes, in which 4 new players were given the opportunity to debut.
Therefore, rotation cannot completely explain Man United's performance.
The defense continues to be a worrying weakness. Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven faced difficulties under pressure from Brighton, especially in transitional situations. In the second goal, Luka Vuskovic made good use of the challenge to put the ball into the central area of Man United's defense, creating conditions for Gross to finish.
Redknapp said that both Yoro and Heaven lacked decisiveness and the necessary speed in retreating situations. By the third goal, Yoro continued to be left behind when Brighton counter-attacked. That moment showed that Man United not only had problems with defensive organization but also had to improve their ability to react when switching states.
The defeat to Brighton is therefore more meaningful than a cup match. Man United for the first time in 50 years let an opponent come back to win at Old Trafford despite once leading 2-0. This is also the first time in 551 matches that Man United has taken the lead after the first half but still lost at home.
