Carrick demands response after Manchester United knocked out of Carabao Cup by Brighton
Michael Carrick said Manchester United must respond after they were eliminated from the Carabao Cup when Brighton beat them 3-2 at Old Trafford on September 16, 2026. Carrick described the defeat as unacceptable and said answers were required ahead of a league trip to Fulham on Sunday.
United raced into a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes through goals from Shea Lacey and Mason Mount, but Brighton rallied to win 3-2 thanks to Charalampos Kostoulas’s equaliser in first-half added time and second-half strikes from Pascal Gross and Maxim De Cuyper four minutes later. The loss, greeted by boos at Old Trafford, was the first time United had lost there after leading 2-0 for 50 years and their first home defeat after being ahead at half-time since 1984. Before the cup exit, Carrick’s team had recorded only victories over Ipswich in the league and Sabah in the Champions League this season.
On the aftermath Carrick said: “Under pressure? That doesn’t bother me one bit.” He added: “I understand what goes on and how the world works. What bothers me is winning games and I believe we will do, but we have to do it pretty quickly. We can’t accept that [the manner of the defeat] as a group. I take responsibility for it. The performance towards the end of the second half, that’s on me. We have a big game on Sunday that we have to prepare for. We’re out of this competition and we have to go back to winning football matches. It doesn’t feel good at the moment.”
Carrick addressed the supporters’ reaction by saying: “I totally understand the feelings of the supporters.” He also commented on the situation involving 15-year-old academy player JJ Gabriel, stating: “We have to be a little bit careful on that one. He’s a 15-year-old boy. It’s more about the welfare, the care and the attention of JJ as a child really.” He added: “He’s certainly a young man. The situation is what it is, but we have to be careful about the exposure and how much we jump on that.”
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler, who made six changes to his side, expressed satisfaction with the result and with his squad’s belief. “I am not sure how many players on the pitch had experienced winning here, we have a lot of newcomers but when we play to our level we can compete with anyone in the league,” he said. Hürzeler confirmed Brighton will travel in the next round to face the winner of Manchester City versus Norwich and added: “We want to go as far as possible but if you want to win something you have to win at the highest level.”
United must now prepare for their league fixture at Fulham on Sunday as Carrick seeks a swift return to winning form.