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Will Carrick navigate choppy waters to steer Man Utd ship back on course?

Manchester United suffered a home Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton, drawing parallels to last season's memorable second-round exit at Grimsby under former manager Ruben Amorim. Stand-in skipper Youri Tielemans acknowledged that the squad stopped competing after falling behind by two goals, with Brighton dominating the contest from the 20-minute mark onward.

Second-half substitutions involving Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Bryan Mbeumo, and Matheus Cunha failed to turn the tide, leaving head coach Michael Carrick unable to find encouraging takeaways.

The setback highlighted mounting defensive troubles for Carrick, whose team has now yielded two goals in three of four Premier League fixtures this season. Despite early tenure stability fostered alongside Steve Holland, Jonathan Woodgate, and Jonny Evans—which featured victories over Arsenal and Manchester City—the back line showed a complete lack of structure against Brighton, compounded by a Karl Darlow goalkeeping mistake and persistent trouble at left-back.