Manchester United crashed out of the Carabao Cup despite racing to a two-goal lead within the first 10 minutes of the game at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Shea Lacey and Mason Mount knocked the wind out of Brighton & Hove Albion’s sails, and at that point, it seemed like it would be a walk in the park for the home side.
But the Seagulls persevered as the Red Devils sat deeper and deeper. And once they pulled one goal back on the stroke of half-time, there was only one winner.
The 20-time English league champions displayed weak mentality yet again while the gulf in quality between both coaches clearly on show.
Carrick under pressure
Michael Carrick’s position is under threat now following a shambolic start to the campaign, but the third-round result was not entirely his doing.
One of the biggest reasons for the defeat was Diogo Dalot. It was not a surprise to see Carrick hand Youri Tielemans the captain’s armband in Bruno Fernandes’ absence.
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Def. contributions | 7 |
| Tackles (won) | 2 (0) |
| Interceptions | 3 |
| Clearances | 2 |
| Blocked shots | 0 |
| Recoveries | 5 |
| Ground duels (won) | 4 (2) |
| Dribbled past | 1 |
| Key passes | 0 |
| Crosses (accurate) | 1 (0) |
| Accurate passes | 37/45 (82%) |
| Passes in opposition half (acc.) | 16/19 (84%) |
| Passes in own half (acc.) | 21/26 (81%) |
| Long balls (accurate) | 1/5 (20%) |
| Touches | 64 |
| Unsuccessful touches | 1 |
| Dribbles (successful) | 0 (0) |
| Possession lost | 12 |
| Total carrying distance | 97.9 m |
| Carries | 13 |
| Progressive carries | 2 |
| Total progression | 41.1 m |
| Progressive carrying distance | 26.8 m |
| Longest progressive carry | 15 m |
| Total shots | 0 |
| Shots on target | 0 |
| Shots blocked | 0 |
stats via sofascore
The Portugal international may have been at the club for eight years now, but that is almost seven years too long.
Fitness and passion are the only things he has going for him, as his ability on the pitch keeps letting the team down week after week, season after season.
Diogo Dalot produced yet another stinker
Against Fabian Hurzeler’s men, the Portugal international won 0 tackles and he lost 50 percent of all his ground duels. The 27-year-old was also dribbled past once.
With the ball, the former Porto ace was even worse. The Braga-born star managed 0 key passes and failed to find a teammate with a single cross.
Even worse, the right-back managed to successfully complete only 20 percent of his long ball attempts. Almost all his passes were square balls which were intercepted on the night (all stats via sofascore).
Diogo Dalot simply not good enough for United
With Carrick short on options at right-back, Diogo Dalot will likely keep playing, but reinforcing that position is arguably more important than left-back.
The United No.2 is not of the requisite quality and needs to be replaced as soon as possible if INEOS are serious about building a team worthy of winning trophies moving forward.
Feature image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
