Manchester United fell to a stunning Carabao Cup exit on Wednesday night, squandering a two goal lead at Old Trafford as Brighton and Hove Albion fought back to win 3 2 in the third round of the competition.

Michael Carrick’s much changed side made the perfect start in front of their own fans. Shea Lacey curled a brilliant effort into the bottom corner inside seven minutes to put the hosts ahead, and just two minutes later Mason Mount doubled the advantage, finishing off a pass from captain for the night Youri Tielemans to leave United cruising at 2 0 with the game barely underway.

What followed was a collapse that will do little to ease the pressure building on Carrick after his side’s controversial derby defeat to Manchester City at the weekend. Brighton, fresh off a five goal thrashing of Coventry City, clawed their way back into the tie and eventually turned the game on its head. Maxim De Cuyper struck in the 69th minute, picked out by Luka Vušković, to complete the turnaround and hand the visitors a 3 2 lead they would not relinquish.

United still had chances to save themselves. Marcus Rashford was sent clean through one on one with the goalkeeper in the closing stages but could not find a way past a smart save from the Brighton stopper, while at the other end the Red Devils were fortunate to see a goal bound effort from Diego Gomez cleared off the line in what would have been a killer fourth for the Seagulls. In the end, though, there was no way back for the home side, and Fabian Hürzeler’s men held on to book their place in the fourth round.

The result compounds a miserable few days for Carrick, whose side have now lost back to back matches for the first time since he took charge, and will intensify scrutiny on a manager already fielding questions about off field distractions at the club. For Brighton, the win extends their excellent recent form and continues their unwanted habit of making life difficult for United, who they have now beaten in six of their last ten meetings across competitions.

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