Fleetwood Town mocked Manchester United after reaching the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, hours before Michael Carrick’s side suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat by Brighton at Old Trafford.
The League Two club secured a historic place in the last 16 by beating Sheffield United 1-0 on Wednesday night. Their reward is a home tie against Premier League champions Arsenal.
United appeared to be in control against Brighton after Shea Lacey and Mason Mount gave them a two-goal lead inside the opening 10 minutes. However, Charalampos Kostoulas, Pascal Gross and Maxim De Cuyper completed a remarkable comeback for the visitors.
Fleetwood Town take aim at Manchester United
After United’s exit, Fleetwood posted on X: “Just a reminder: Town have gone further in this year’s League Cup than Manchester United. 👍”
The remark highlighted the contrasting fortunes of the two clubs. Fleetwood reached the fourth round for the first time in their history, with Rhys Norrington-Davies’ own goal in the 57th minute settling their tie against Championship opposition.
Manchester United, meanwhile, were eliminated despite facing a Brighton team that had made six changes. The defeat was also the first time in 50 years that United had lost at home after taking a two-goal lead, with Tottenham the previous side to achieve the feat in 1976.
For Fleetwood, the result means preparing to host Arsenal while one of English football’s biggest clubs is already out of the competition. United have now lost three of their first six matches in all competitions, with their failure to retain control after momentum shifts becoming an increasing concern.
