Michael Carrick calls United’s Carabao Cup loss unacceptable

Man United’s Carabao Cup exit at Old Trafford has been labelled ‘unacceptable’ by Michael Carrick, who accepted responsibility after the club’s first defeat at the stadium since 1976, surrendering a 2‑0 lead as Brighton & Hove Albion turned the tie around to win 3‑2.

Man United’s Carabao Cup tie at Old Trafford turned into a historic collapse. For the first time since 1976 the side surrendered a 2‑0 advantage as Brighton & Hove Albion fought back to win 3‑2. The defeat ends United’s campaign in the competition.

Carrick accepts responsibility

“We can’t accept that as a group. I take responsibility for it,” Carrick said, adding that the team “couldn’t put ourselves in that position after being ahead in the game and the game finishing like it did”. He continued: “The feeling at the start of the game to the feeling at the end of the game couldn’t have been further apart.” There was no excuse for the capitulation against Fabian Hurzeler’s side.

Increased scrutiny follows Carrick, who took the head‑coach role in the summer on a two‑year contract. He insisted: “I don’t feel under pressure. Either way, that doesn’t bother me one bit. When we win, people say I’m doing a good job, and if we don’t win or we don’t get results, then a lot of it’s on me.”

United’s recent slump

United have also conceded a 96th‑minute equaliser to Everton and then lost the Manchester derby, a run Carrick described as “a couple of smallish things end up accumulating into, it feels bigger”. He warned that “there’s a lot of frustration and disappointment around and we need to flip that and start winning games again”.

The club travels to Fulham next and Carrick stressed the need for an immediate response. “We have to find the answers for Sunday,” he said, confident the squad can turn things around.

“Of course we can turn it around. We’ve got some really good players and it feels bad at the moment because we haven’t had a great week, you know, or two or three weeks,” Carrick added. “But it doesn’t mean you can’t win another game of football quickly.”