After a weak start to the Premier League season, Manchester United suffered a shock defeat in the League Cup despite staging a comeback. The team was knocked out by fourth-tier Grimsby Town after a seemingly endless penalty shootout.
It is well known that Manchester United has had a spectacularly poor run so far this year. It is also well known that the Red Devils have once again had a weak start to the Premier League season and are already under pressure before the third match day. And yet, most soccer fans would have expected the English record champions to be able to cope with fourth-division Grimsby Town in the second round of the League Cup.
This made the scene at Grimsby’s sold-out Blundell Park on Wednesday evening all the more shocking. In the first 20 minutes in particular, the underdogs played boldly and courageously against the Premier League giants, while Ruben Amorim’s team posed little threat in attack. Distinguishing the fourth-tier side from the Premier League giants would have been difficult for an uninformed spectator in the early stages of the game.
Midfield collision, mistake by Onana
Especially since Manchester United produced several slapstick moments in the first half, which the underdogs then exploited ruthlessly. After 22 minutes, Diallo and Ugarte collided with each other in midfield, inviting Grimsby to counterattack. From the right, Burns was then able to cross unchallenged to Vernam, who controlled the ball in the penalty area and beat Onana with his shot into the near corner.
It was Manchester’s goalkeeper who made the next mistake eight minutes later: Onana dived under the ball from a corner, leaving Warren behind him to tap in for the hosts. Referee Harrington overlooked the fact that the ball also bounced off the Grimsby player’s arm, and since there is no video evidence in the early rounds of the League Cup, the goal stood.
At least the Premier League team showed some kind of reaction to the deficit, with Sesko and Cunha creating a few good chances before the break. Nevertheless, the Red Devils took the 0-2 deficit into the second half, in which Amorim brought on de Ligt, Fernandes, and Mbeumo.
United comes back in the rain
Right at the start of the second half, heavy rain turned the match into a slippery affair, but this did little to change the course of the game. United’s attacking efforts remained mostly harmless, while Grimsby continued to pose a threat, as in the 50th minute when Heaven had to make a spectacular chest clearance on the goal line for United.
It was not until the middle of the second half that the Red Devils began to establish themselves more firmly in their opponents’ half. Fernandes forced keeper Pym into a strong save with a long-range shot (63′), and de Ligt put the ball over the goal from a good position in the penalty area (68′). After 75 minutes, Mbeumo scored the equalizer with a low shot from the edge of the box, before Maguire headed in from a corner (88′) to save his team and take the game to penalties.
After 26 penalties, Grimsby celebrates
Oduor for Grimsby and Cunha for Manchester initially missed, but after Grimsby’s fifth penalty, the ball kept finding the back of the net until even keepers Onana and Pym got in on the action and both converted confidently. The penalty shootout started again from the beginning until Mbeumo hit the crossbar with the 26th penalty, sealing the favorites’ elimination.
The fourth-division team from the English east coast will thus remember an unforgettable cup evening, complete with a pitch invasion, which will probably remain a highlight in the club’s 147-year history. Manchester United, on the other hand, are now likely to find themselves in a serious crisis – their elimination by the fourth-tier side marks a new low in Ruben Amorim’s tenure with the Red Devils.