Carrick accepts blame for Man United's Carabao Cup collapse

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick accepted responsibility for his team's Carabao Cup collapse against Brighton, which saw fans boo and chant at the players after surrendering a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Old Trafford. The defeat on Wednesday marked the first time since 1976 that Manchester United squandered a two-goal advantage to lose at home. Brighton overturned the deficit with goals from Charalampos Kostoulas, Pascal Gross, and Maxim De Cuyper, after United had taken an early lead through teenager Shea Lacey's first senior goal and a strike from Mason Mount. At the final whistle, United supporters expressed their frustration with loud boos and chants of "what the f***ing hell was that" directed at the team. Carrick, speaking post-match, described the performance as "unacceptable" and took full blame. "I take responsibility for it. The performance towards the end of the second half, that's on me," he said. "We can't accept that as a group." Carrick also addressed fan criticism of his calm demeanor, questioning what specific emotion supporters wanted to see. "I need to show more emotion? In what way?" he asked, defending his composed approach as the way forward.