Slow, porous, ponderous — Man United are in crisis again
It started off in a blaze of glory. Manchester United began their third-round clash in the Carabao Cup against Brighton and Hove Albion with venom and purpose. In a space of 10 minutes, the Red Devils went 2-0 up, with goals from Shea Lacey and Mason Mounts showing that the players were up to give a fitting riposte after their disappointing loss in the Manchester Derby on Sunday.
But that was as good as it got for Michael Carrick’s men. From there on, it felt like they were overmatched and overrun as one error after another time and time again allowed Brighton to slowly and steadily come back into the game, before eventually emerging 3-2 winners, which means that Manchester United have now been eliminated from the third round of the competition 2 seasons running.
The big challenge for United and Carrick was to make sure that they learn their lessons from previous games and continue to put the foot on the throats of the opponents after having pegged them back. By scoring the second goal quickly, it felt like they were doing just that. But then all too predictably, they just fell flat.
Normally, a side that is 2-0 down this early in the game, they almost inevitably grow in stature and try to score as many as possible to put the result beyond doubt. United, though, got as ponderous as they could get. After Marcus Rashford ballooned a free-kick well over in the 12th minute, they did not manufacture a single shot until the end of the half. This was in stark contrast to Brighton, who had 6 shots and eventually got a goal back at the end of the first-half.
With every passing minute after going 2-0 up, United’s defence looked shaky and porous. And with the way Brighton have been playing this season, even a second-string Seagulls side smelt blood and went for the kill. Pascal Gross and Malick Yalcouye had very presentable opportunities courtesy of the openness of United’s backline. With the score 2-1 at half-time, the red flags were clear and obvious for United to get their act together in the second half.
Instead, they kept on making those mistakes in the second 45 as well, and they were ruthlessly punished by Fabian Hurzeler’s side as they went from 2-1 down to 3-2 in the space of 4 minutes. From there on, it looked like there was going to be only one winner and it was not the Men in Red.
Safe to say that even the crowd did not like what they were seeing one bit. Every mistake was met by groans of frustration and at the final whistle, boos greeted the squad, with chants of “what the f*****g hell was that?” reverberating around Old Trafford.
This game was a good opportunity to bring back lost morale and confidence ahead of a long international break, but with the door to one domestic trophy shut on United at their very first hurdle, the mood around the club has become bleaker.
After a shocking loss to Hull City in the opening game, Carrick had spoken about how it was just one game, and that results will pick up. Since those words, United have now gone on to lose 2 out of their next 5 games, with wins only against newly-promoted Ipswich Town and Champions League newcomers and minnows Sabah FC.
In every defeat, the manner has been painfully obvious: United have either been slow, the defense has been porous and capable of conceding multiple goals, the attacking phases of play have been ponderous, and they cannot control the game when they are on top (the 2-2 draw against Everton another case in point).
This game was supposed to be a celebration of a highly-rated youth prospect getting his first-ever competitive goal in front of his home crowd, family, and friends. Instead, it became an embarrassing capitulation that handed them a first loss at home after leading at half-time in five decades.
Michael Carrick has brought in a lot of highs in the last 8 months as Man United manager. This is now the lowest the club has been in his tenure. The onus is on him to uplift a seemingly bereft and incompetent squad to something resembling fluency. And he has to do it fast.
