Yoro and Heaven struggled, but this League 2-standard player should never wear the shirt again: Player Ratings

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Manchester United have been dumped out of the Carabao Cup at the first time of asking for a second consecutive season after suffering a shock 3-2 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion. Here are our player ratings from the game.

(A score of 6 is around average)

Karl Darlow 3 – Marked his United debut with a big mistake that saw Brighton score and halve the deficit. Failed to come out and claim the ball, which Charalampos Kostoulas latched onto to guide home.

Diogo Dalot 2 – A reckless pass conceded possession, which Brighton capitalised on to score their second goal mere seconds later. He also struggled against Malick Yalcouyé.

Leny Yoro 3 – An early casual clearance set the tone for what was a poor performance alongside Leny Yoro. Also didn’t cover himself in glory for Maxim De Cuyper’s strike.

Ayden Heaven 3 – A nonchalant performance that certainly did not benefit either himself or United. Noussair Mazraoui. As with Yoro, he set the tone early with an unconvincing fall in an attempt to win a foul, only for the referee to ignore his appeals. Yoro fortunately covered for him. He contributed to the mess alongside Darlow for Brighton’s goal and was unconvincing for their third.

Tonight's centre-back pairing 🛡️

We're backing you, lads 🤜🤛 pic.twitter.com/zrvzqJv58j

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 16, 2026

Noussair Mazraoui 4 – He lacked the commitment required to prevent his opponent from delivering the cross to De Cuyper, who beat Darlow from close range.

Andrey Santos 5 – A promising start but progressively faded as the game progressed.

Youri Tielemans 7 – One of the very few United players who turned up for the entire game. He wore the armband, ran the midfield with authority, played a big part in the hosts’ opener and had a few cracks at goal himself, though the target eluded him. Some truly silky moments on the ball.

Mason Mount 8 – Doubled United’s lead with a good strike.

We have lift-off! 😍🚀 pic.twitter.com/arlEMCIwY7

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 16, 2026

Shea Lacey 8 – Excellent finish from the edge of the box to break the deadlock inside eight minutes. A positive performance on his first start for United.

⚽️ Shea Lacey (8')
⚽️ Mason Mount (10')

A strong start for Michael Carrick's Reds! 👊 pic.twitter.com/wSxdo53xt3

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 16, 2026

Marcus Rashford 6.5 – A nightmare for the Brighton defenders, who struggled to contain him. He beat multiple defenders in the build-up to Mount’s goal and nearly made it 3-3 but was just denied by the Brighton goalkeeper. Overall, a good display but he will be eager to improve his end product.

Pushing for more 👏 pic.twitter.com/zXc2eP3eBI

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 16, 2026

Benjamin Sesko 5 – Starved of service all game.

Substitutes

Joshua Zirkzee 4 – Made no difference whatsoever. Waste of a substitution.

Bryan Mbeumo 4 – Same as Zirkzee.

Kobbie Mainoo 5 – OK.

Bruno Fernandes 5 – Delicate touch to send Rashford through on goal. Should have got an assist.

Matheus Cunha 4 – Offered next to nothing following his introduction.

Featured image by Molly Darlington via Getty Images

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