0 shots, 0 successful dribbles: United star subbed off the pitch after disasterclass in EFL Cup defeat to Brighton | OneFootball

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Manchester United suffered a disastrous 3-2 EFL Cup defeat at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Wednesday, 16 September. Goals from Shea Lacey and Mason Mount were not enough as the Red Devils exited the tournament in the third round.

Michael Carrick made eight changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Manchester City at Old Trafford over the weekend in the Premier League. Diogo Dalot, Youri Tielemans and Marcus Rashford were the only players to retain their places in the team from Sunday’s disappointing defeat.

The Belgian, meanwhile, wore the armband in the absence of Bruno Fernandes, who was named among the substitutes. Karl Darlow, who arrived on a Bosman move this summer, made his debut for the English giants, replacing Senne Lammens in goal.

Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven formed the centre-back pairing, while Noussair Mazraoui filled in at the left-back position. Tielemans was joined by Andrey Santos in midfield, along with Mason Mount.

The day also marked Shea Lacey’s first start for United, as all his previous six appearances have come from the bench. The youngster joined Benjamin Sesko and Rashford in attack.

United fail to impress once again

United started the game well and took the lead through Lacey in the eighth minute. Mount made it 2-0 two minutes later, and it looked as though the Red Devils would be running away with the game.

However, the visitors responded through Charalampos Kostoulas at the stroke of half-time. Pascal Gross then levelled the scores in the 65th minute, prompting Carrick to bring on Bryan Mbeumo, Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee.

However, it was Brighton who took the lead in the 69th minute, completing a remarkable turnaround on the night. Carrick threw on Fernandes in the 73rd minute in a bid to salvage the game, but the Portuguese maestro failed to have an impact.

While the entire team had an off day, fans will be particularly disappointed by Sesko’s performance on the night.

Sesko has a night to forget

Sesko was offered a rare start but did very little to justify that decision. The Slovenian was on the pitch for 66 minutes, during which he managed 23 touches of the ball.

Sesko attempted just 14 passes, only eight of which found their man, ending with a 57% pass completion rate. The 23 year old failed to make a key pass, but completed his one attempted long ball.

Sesko was involved in nine duels but won only four of them. He also lost the ball 13 times on the night. The Slovenian had very little contribution off the ball and did nothing of repute in the final third either.

Sesko failed to register a shot in the game and neither of his two attempted dribbles was successful. The Slovenian was finally replaced by Joshua Zirkzee in the second half.

Benjamin Sesko: Stats vs Brighton

Source: Sofascore.

Final Thoughts

United started well but drifted out of the game and paid the ultimate price. The defeat and subsequent exit from the EFL Cup are bound to increase the pressure on Sesko, and raise further questions about Carrick’s suitability to lead the Red Devils.