The Full Time Report — Episode 131: Two-Nil Up, and Then the Boos
Manchester United were two goals up inside ten minutes at Old Trafford last night, and they still went out of the Carabao Cup.
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The Full Time Report — Episode 131: Two-Nil Up, and Then the Boos
Wednesday night gave us a two-goal lead that did not hold at Old Trafford, a fourth-tier club in the last sixteen for the first time, and Sunderland's first European win in fifty-three years. Here is what happened, and what it means.
Wednesday's results
- Manchester United 2–3 Brighton & Hove Albion. United, who went out of both domestic cups at the earliest opportunity last season, led through Shea Lacey and Mason Mount inside ten minutes; Charalampos Kostoulas, Pascal Gross and Maxim De Cuyper turned it round. 12
- Fleetwood Town 1–0 Sheffield United. Rhys Norrington-Davies scored the only goal, into his own net, on 57 minutes. 2
- Coventry City 1–3 Aston Villa. Tammy Abraham scored on 6 and 59 minutes, either side of Viktor Torp's equaliser; Ross Barkley got the third on 40. 2
- Everton 1–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers. Charly Alcaraz, three minutes after coming on, on 80 minutes. 2
Europa League league phase, first matchday: Sunderland 1–0 AZ Alkmaar; Milan 0–2 Benfica; Bayer Leverkusen 2–0 Celje; Anderlecht 1–2 Lyon; Omonia Nicosia 1–0 Celta Vigo; Olympiakos 2–1 Jagiellonia Białystok; Sparta Prague 4–1 Ararat-Armenia; Sturm Graz 0–0 Rennes; Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0–0 Dinamo Zagreb. 34
The collapse at Old Trafford
Shea Lacey, 19, scored on his first United start, eight minutes in, past Jason Steele; Mason Mount doubled it two minutes later, his first goal since a win at Wolves last December. Charalampos Kostoulas pulled one back in first-half stoppage time, Pascal Gross levelled on 65 minutes and Maxim De Cuyper won it four minutes later, three minutes after coming on. 1
It was the first time United have lost at Old Trafford after leading by two goals in 50 years — since Tottenham's 3–2 win in September 1976 — and the first time since 1984 they have lost there after leading at half-time. Marcus Rashford was one-on-one with Steele late on and did not score; Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha came on with about 20 minutes left. The final whistle was met with boos. 5
Michael Carrick: "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." On the pressure: "That doesn't bother me one bit." On the supporters: "I totally understand the feelings of the supporters." 5
United have four points from four league games and have beaten only Ipswich in the league and Sabah in Europe this season. They play at Fulham on Sunday. Carrick said of JJ Gabriel, the 15-year-old who has asked to leave: "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." 5
Brighton's Fabian Hürzeler, who made six changes: "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." 5
Fleetwood, and the rest of the cup night
Fleetwood Town are in League Two, are the lowest-ranked club left in the competition, and had never reached the fourth round before. Sheffield United's manager, Chris Wilder, made five changes from the side beaten by Wolves in the league on Friday. Rhys Norrington-Davies headed Danny Andrew's left-wing cross past his own goalkeeper on 57 minutes; a Danny Andrew effort was ruled out for offside and Fleetwood hit the woodwork twice. Sheffield United had a Tom Cannon goal ruled out. Fleetwood's reward is a home tie with Arsenal. 2
At Everton, Charly Alcaraz had played 14 minutes all season before he came on and scored the only goal, on 80 minutes, from a Tyler Dibling assist. Everton host Newcastle in the fourth round. 2
The fourth round
The draw, made after the Old Trafford match, and played in the week beginning 26 October: 2
- Fleetwood Town v Arsenal
- Manchester City or Norwich City v Brighton & Hove Albion
- Everton v Newcastle United
- Sunderland v Brentford
- Liverpool v Chelsea
- Bradford City v Peterborough United
- Fulham v Crystal Palace
- Bournemouth v Aston Villa
Manchester City v Norwich City is played tonight. 6
Europe: fifty-three years, and a penalty
Sunderland's first European match in 53 years was won by Enzo Le Fée's 65th-minute penalty, four days after he had a penalty saved against Arsenal. Le Fée also hit the post; Wilson Isidor and Trai Hume missed chances either side of that. AZ Alkmaar had won five and drawn one of their opening six league games. 7
Jimmy Montgomery, 82, the hero of Sunderland's 1973 FA Cup win and their goalkeeper on their last European run, was in the guest seats. 7
Régis Le Bris said Sunderland played "with heart and togetherness" and that Le Fée "stepped up with bravery and courage". Hume said the result was for the supporters who stayed with the club in League One. Sunderland go to Manchester City on Sunday. 4
Milan 0–2 Benfica at San Siro: Dodi Lukebakio scored a solo goal on 16 minutes and Jakub Kaminski made it two early in the second half. Bayer Leverkusen, finalists in 2024, beat Celje 2–0; Lyon won 2–1 at Anderlecht with early goals from Noah Nartey and Keito Nakamura; Omonia Nicosia beat Celta Vigo 1–0; Roman Yaremchuk scored a late winner for Olympiakos against Jagiellonia Białystok. 4
What is on tonight
The last Carabao Cup third-round tie is Manchester City v Norwich City. In the Europa League, Bournemouth play their first European match in the club's history, at Real Sociedad; Crystal Palace host Lech Poznań, Celtic host Ferencváros and Juventus host NEC Nijmegen. Bournemouth's first European night caps a rise of about two decades that the Guardian has described as a journey from the brink. 68
Chelsea: Clearlake takes full control
Todd Boehly and Mark Walter, two of the investors who bought Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in May 2022 in a sale the UK government required, have sold their stakes; Clearlake Capital, which already held 61.5%, now owns the club outright, and Boehly has left the chair. Hansjörg Wyss remains a stakeholder. The club said nothing changes in day-to-day operations, leadership or strategy. Chelsea are managed by Xabi Alonso and sit sixth in the Premier League. 9
Transfer desk
With each item attributed to the outlet that reported it: Arsenal rejected multiple loan approaches from Luton Town for the 16-year-old Max Dowman (Talksport); Luke Shaw could leave Manchester United next summer, with no contract talks under way (Mail); Arsenal, Brighton and Aston Villa are monitoring Sturm Graz's 17-year-old midfielder Luca Weinhandl, who could cost around £17m (CaughtOffside); Liverpool are considering a January move for Monaco's Lamine Camara (Football Insider); Tottenham are the latest club linked with the free agent Mauro Icardi (Calciomercato); Arsenal are monitoring Rodrygo's recovery from injury (Teamtalk); Anthony Martial is set to join Málaga as a free agent (Footmercato); and the 16-year-old striker Vincent Joseph has confirmed he is leaving Liverpool, where he is expected to join Arsenal (Standard). 10
Two smaller items from the same desk: Manchester United are close to giving the 17-year-old German midfielder Noah Ajayi his first professional contract (Sky Sports), and Leeds United have a £19.7m option to buy Jean-Matteo Bahoya from Eintracht Frankfurt, which they are in no hurry to use (Football Insider). 10
None of those is a completed transfer. They are monitoring, interest, a rejected approach or an expected move; the only one described as done from the player's side is Vincent Joseph's departure.
References
- 1
- 2Carabao Cup clockwatch – as it happened
theguardian.com
- 3
- 4Europa League clockwatch – as it happened
theguardian.com
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- 8Football – The Guardian, 17 September 2026
theguardian.com
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