Man United boss Carrick accepts blame after woeful Brighton League Cup defeat

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick took the blame for his sides dramatic exit from the League Cup after defeat against Brighton on Wednesday.

The red devils blew a 2-0 lead to eventually lose 3-2 at Old Trafford as the fans booed the team away after the final whistle.

Shea Lacey and Mason Mount put United two up by the 10th minute, but the hosts suffered a woeful collapse as Charalampos Kostoulas reduced the deficit and Pascal Gross equalised.

Maxim De Cuyper came off the bench to bag the winner, subjecting United to a third defeat in six games this season.

For the first time in 50 years, United lost a home game after leading 2-0, yet another brutal blow for United after their controversial 1-0 home defeat against Manchester City on Sunday.

“We had the game exactly where we wanted it and let it get away from us. That’s the story of the game.

“There are a number of things we will look at and dissect. I know quite a bit about where it went wrong.

“We can’t accept that as a group. Listen, I take responsibility for that, with the performance towards the end of the second half. That is on me,” Carrick stated after the match.

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Having led United to third place last season in his spell as interim boss, Carrick was expected to oversee a title challenge this term after being appointed on a permanent basis.

Carrick, who is in his first full season in charge of Man United, is under pressure to turn the tide at Fulham in the top-flight on Sunday.

Amid criticism of United’s close-season transfer recruitment, Carrick’s decision to make eight changes against Brighton exposed the lack of depth in his squad.

“We will all be better. We have to be better. We have a big game on Sunday that we have to prepare for. We are out of this competition. We’ve got to get back to winning football matches,” Carrick said.

“It doesn’t feel good at the moment, let me tell you. It doesn’t feel good. We can get back to winning football matches and we can do a lot of things better.

“We want to win and we want to win quickly. It’s as simple as that. The next game is Sunday and that is purely all I’m thinking about. We will get better with a number of things,” he added.

Carrick was a decorated member of the United sides that won Premier League titles and the Champions League under Alex Ferguson.

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His successful interim spell had raised hopes that he could be the man to lead United to their first English title since Ferguson retired in 2013.

But the former England midfielder, whose only previous managerial experience came with second tier Middlesbrough, is in danger of being dragged into a fight to save his job unless results improve quickly.