Manchester United suffered a shocking cup exit on home turf, as Brighton stormed back from a two goal deficit to book their place in the last sixteen of the Carabao Cup.
Interim boss Michael Carrick threw on captain Bruno Fernandes with eighteen minutes remaining, hoping to rescue a match that was slipping away after his side shipped two goals in a four minute span during the second half.
The collapse marked something extraordinary: United had not lost a home fixture after leading by two clear goals since a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham back in 1976, exactly fifty years earlier.
A small pocket of travelling Brighton supporters roared with delight from the stands, while the home crowd jeered their own players as they trudged off at the close.
The result piled fresh misery on Carrick, whose side were already reeling from a humbling derby loss to a ten man Manchester City outfit, alongside news that fifteen year old academy prospect JJ Gabriel had told the club he wants to leave.
Things had started brightly enough. Teenager Shea Lacey announced himself with a clinical finish in just his first start for the senior side, netting inside eight minutes. Two minutes later, Mason Mount pounced on a rebound after Marcus Rashford’s effort was blocked, doubling the hosts’ advantage.
Then came the unraveling. Charalampos Kostoulas halved the deficit right before the break. Brighton captain Pascal Gross then equalized, given time and space to control a clearance and fire past debutant goalkeeper Karl Darlow. Kostoulas turned provider soon after, setting up substitute Maxim de Cuyper to complete the turnaround.
Jason Steele kept out a late Rashford chance, while Darlow denied Diego Gomez a potential fourth for the visitors.
Coming after last season’s embarrassing loss to League Two side Grimsby and Brighton’s FA Cup victory at the same venue in January, this defeat marks a third straight domestic cup elimination for the Red Devils.
