Shea Lacey’s dream debut soured as defensive collapses and a relentless Brighton press erased a two-goal lead, dumping Michael Carrick’s men out of the Carabao Cup.
Manchester United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton after losing 3-2 at Old Trafford.
It was a dream start for Michael Carrick's side after Shea Lacey marked his first-ever start with his first-ever United goal. Youri Tielemans found the youngster on the right-hand side, cut inside just outside the box, and smashed the ball into the near post past Jason Steele.
Only 98 seconds later, the Red Devils doubled their lead to 2-0. Marcus Rashford drove towards the goal, but his shot was saved, and Mason Mount's bounced volley looped into the goal.
Just before half-time, Brighton managed to get a goal back after a long ball from the halfway line found Charalampos Kostoulas to slot past Karl Darlow.
In the second half, the Seagulls scored themselves an equaliser after a long ball from Diogo Dalot was headed back towards United's goal by Benjamin Sesko to Pascal Gross, who was in acres of space to slot it past Darlow.
In the 70th minute, Brighton completed their comeback as substitute Maxim De Cuyper put the away side into the lead.
#1 - Defensively poor
Even when the club was 2-0 up, the entire defence never looked completely certain at the back and at times, whether it was tactical or down to the individual, made poor options.
So many times, Brighton's forwards were able to slip away from their man and were completely unmarked in the box to have an opportunity on goal.
The communication in terms of the defensive line was not clear at times, with players opting for the aggressive route to press the players, which left a gaping hole that was not filled quickly enough by a teammate.
It was not just the defence that was at fault. In the second half, almost every player at times was guilty of losing focus and allowing their man to slip away, which made it so that Brighton had constant overloads.
#2 - Lacey announces himself
In a week when Manchester United's academy has been in all the headlines for a starlet set to leave, it was the youngster Lacey who announced himself to the world with his first goal for United.
The 19-year-old became the first academy player to score their first goal on their first start for United since Marcus Rashford.
Lacey impressed while he was on the pitch as he picked up the ball across the pitch to help move United up the pitch. His well-known ability to dribble out of tight areas was there for all to see.
#3 - Lacked any control
After a bright start by Manchester United, where the players came charging out of the blocks and were rewarded with two goals, the Red Devils lacked any control in the match.
Brighton suffocated Michael Carrick's side and did not allow them to breathe at all, which United played through at the start, but as the game went on, the players were worn out and unable to play through the lines.
However, despite the Brighton press, the players were the masters of their own downfall after repeatedly giving the ball away, and at first were not being punished, but in the second-half Brighton became ultra clinical to punish United.
The best example of how poor United were was the second goal. After having no options, Dalot hoofed the ball long to an isolated Sesko, who then lost the ball to Gross, to score.
#4 - Tielemans, the heart of the team
Despite the disappointing result, Tielemans yet again proved why he is arguably one of the most important players in this Manchester United squad.
The array of passing that was on show for everyone to see, from long-range passes to receiving the ball surrounded by Brighton players to make space for his teammates. Without him, the Red Devils would have struggled even more to play out of the press at times.
Once all the players reach their full best on the ball to help the Belgian out, this team has the potential to be a brilliant team in possession. However, other than Kobbie Mainoo, it feels as though the rest of the team is built for fast transitions rather than taking time on the ball to regain control, which is what Tielemans constantly tried to do.
Another reason that highlights his importance to the team is the fact that he was given the captain's armband in the absence of Fernandes. His leadership is something that could be pivotal for the squad, given the rough situation the club currently finds itself in.
#5 - Carrick needs to make tactical tweaks
In flashes this season, Carrick's side have shown some signs of a promising evolution from the counter-attacking system of last season. However, it feels as though United have struggled of late to adapt to teams in-game.
As mentioned earlier, the start was promising, but the way the performance tailed off dramatically and the fact that the players never looked like they were going to regain momentum were incredibly alarming to see.
One major issue is seemingly the constant nature of players, especially the full-backs, to send the ball up the pitch, and it very rarely yields any major success, but instead invites more pressure back onto the players.
While two of the goals have come from individual errors, the lack of reaction or system tweak is something Carrick needs to improve upon as the season goes on.
