*As Coventry woes continue as Fleetwood, others advance
Manchester United suffered another painful domestic cup setback on Wednesday night, surrendering a two-goal lead before crashing to a 3-2 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup third round.
The defeat was particularly damaging for Michael Carrick’s side, who appeared to be cruising after two goals inside the opening 10 minutes.
Shea Lacey marked his first senior start by putting United ahead after eight minutes, before Mason Mount doubled the advantage just two minutes later.
However, Brighton refused to fold.
Charalampos Kostoulas pulled one back in first-half stoppage time, giving the visitors renewed belief before Pascal Groß restored parity in the 65th minute.
Just four minutes later, Maxim De Cuyper completed the turnaround, sending Brighton into the fourth round and leaving Old Trafford stunned.
United’s collapse also ended a remarkable half-century record. It was the first time since 1976 that Manchester United had led by two goals at home and gone on to lose, when Tottenham Hotspur produced a similar comeback.
Carrick was forced to introduce captain Bruno Fernandes with 18 minutes remaining as United searched for a response, but Brighton held firm to secure one of the most striking results of the third round.
The defeat compounds a difficult period for United, coming shortly after their heavy Manchester derby loss and extending their recent struggles in domestic cup competition.
While Brighton’s comeback dominated the headlines, Fleetwood Town supplied another major talking point by eliminating Championship side Sheffield United with a 1-0 victory.
The League Two club secured a place in the fourth round after Rhys Norrington-Davies’ own goal proved decisive in the 57th minute.
Fleetwood’s victory earns them a high-profile fourth-round home tie against Arsenal and underlines once again the Carabao Cup’s capacity to produce surprises.
Also, Aston Villa avoided an upset at Coventry City, advancing with a convincing 3-1 victory.
Ross Barkley opened the scoring for Villa before Victor Torp brought Coventry level.
Tammy Abraham then restored Villa’s lead before adding a second goal to complete his brace and settle the contest.
The result keeps Unai Emery’s side on course for another deep domestic cup run.
Everton also booked their place in the fourth round after edging Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0.
With the contest appearing destined for extra time, substitute Charly Alcaraz broke the deadlock in the 80th minute to give Everton the decisive advantage.
Wolves, who made nine changes for the cup tie, were unable to find an equaliser as Everton held on to progress.
# Wednesday’s Carabao Cup Results
Man United 2-3 Brighton
Coventry City 1-3 Aston Villa
Everton 1-0 Wolves
Fleetwood Town 1-0 Sheffield United
The third-round schedule concludes on Thursday when Manchester City host Norwich City, with kick-off scheduled for 7:30pm UK time.
The fourth-round draw has already produced several intriguing ties, including Fleetwood Town’s meeting with Arsenal, while Everton will face Newcastle United and Brighton will meet the winner of Manchester City’s tie with Norwich.
