2UP Bettors Cash In as Manchester United Throw Away Two-Goal Lead Against Brighton

Anyone who backed Manchester United in the 2UP market against Brighton on Wednesday night enjoyed a rather better evening than the supporters inside Old Trafford.

United went 2-0 ahead inside ten minutes, which was enough for qualifying 2UP bets to be paid out as winners by betting sites offering the promotion. Betfred's market, for example, stated that a selection would be settled as a winner if the backed team established a two-goal lead, while Sky Bet also offered a dedicated 2UP market on the match.

For once, the bookmakers paying out early really did bettors a favour.

Manchester United certainly weren't going to finish the job themselves.

Shea Lacey gave United the perfect start on his first senior start, scoring after eight minutes, and Mason Mount made it 2-0 just two minutes later. Old Trafford had barely settled into the game and Brighton, who had made six changes, already looked in serious trouble.

From there, United somehow turned what should have been a comfortable cup tie into another miserable night.

The warning signs were there well before Brighton scored. United stopped creating chances, Brighton were allowed back into the match and Charalampos Kostoulas eventually made it 2-1 in first-half stoppage time. Remarkably, after Mount's tenth-minute goal, United did not manage another shot on target until the 76th minute.

By then they were losing.

Pascal Gross equalised in the 65th minute and Maxim De Cuyper completed the turnaround four minutes later. United had gone from 2-0 up to 3-2 down in a match they desperately needed to win.

It was the first time in 50 years Manchester United had lost at Old Trafford after leading by two goals. They had previously won 143 of the 145 home matches in which they had established a 2-0 advantage.

That probably tells you more about the current Manchester United than another lengthy discussion about systems and formations ever could.

Goldbridge Fuming as One Viewer Calls the Collapse

The mood over on The United Stand wasn't much better.

Mark Goldbridge was predictably fuming as the game slipped away, but one of the more amusing moments came shortly before half-time when a viewer effectively called what was about to happen, predicting the Brighton comeback while United were still leading.

Normally you'd dismiss that as a supporter expecting the worst. With this Manchester United team, it turned out to be a fairly sensible reading of the situation.

That is perhaps the most damning thing about United at the moment. Going 2-0 up at home doesn't seem to settle anybody down. The supporters don't trust them, the opposition clearly don't fear them and, judging by Wednesday night, the players themselves don't appear particularly convinced either.

Brighton's goal just before the break should have prompted a response from Carrick. United were still winning the game and had half-time to reorganise, calm things down and make sure the cup tie didn't become chaotic.

Instead they came back out and lost the second half 2-0.

Carrick Got the Game Management Wrong

Michael Carrick has to take a fair share of the criticism.

There were individual errors, particularly defensively, but United had enough warning that the game was turning. Brighton were gaining confidence and United were becoming increasingly passive, yet Carrick waited until after the visitors had completed the comeback before making the changes that might have helped prevent it.

Bruno Fernandes was introduced in the 73rd minute, followed by Matheus Cunha, but by that point Carrick wasn't managing a 2-1 lead; he was desperately trying to rescue a 3-2 defeat.

Carrick admitted afterwards that the second-half performance was unacceptable and accepted responsibility for it.

He was right.

There is obviously an argument for resting players in the Carabao Cup, but United are hardly in a position where competitions can be casually discarded. They have taken just four points from their opening four Premier League matches and have now gone out of the League Cup at the first hurdle for a second successive season.

Winning something might be difficult enough this season without voluntarily shortening the list.

United's Recruitment Is Looking Worse by the Week

Carrick isn't the only problem.

Manchester United have spent another significant amount of money trying to improve this squad, yet it remains surprisingly difficult to identify exactly what all that investment has fixed.

There are talented players in the team, but United still look disjointed. The midfield can be played through, the defence remains vulnerable and when a match starts moving against them there seems to be very little collective ability to slow it down.

That isn't simply a Brighton problem. Four points from the opening 12 available in the Premier League had already put Carrick's side under pressure before Wednesday night's cup defeat.

Recruitment at Manchester United has become a familiar cycle. Spend heavily, explain why the new arrivals suit the latest plan, wait a few weeks and then start discussing which positions need strengthening in the next transfer window.

At some stage, somebody might want to check whether buying more players is actually the same thing as building a team.

How Bad Have Manchester United Become?

The answer probably lies in how unsurprising Wednesday's result felt.

Losing 3-2 at home after being 2-0 ahead inside ten minutes should be extraordinary. Statistically, for Manchester United at Old Trafford, it was. They hadn't managed it for half a century.

Yet watching the game, there was a point where Brighton's comeback began to feel almost inevitable.

United didn't kill the game, didn't control it and didn't respond particularly well when Brighton increased the pressure. When Gross equalised, Old Trafford seemed to know where things were heading. Four minutes later, De Cuyper confirmed it.

Brighton deserve plenty of credit. They kept playing, spotted United's vulnerability and punished them.

But this was also another example of just how far Manchester United's standards have slipped. A club that once specialised in turning apparently lost matches into victories has developed the rather less useful habit of doing the opposite.

For bettors who backed United in a qualifying 2UP market, none of that mattered. Once Mount made it 2-0, their bet had done its job.

In hindsight, asking the bookmaker to pay out after ten minutes was probably the safest way to back Manchester United.

Leaving the bet running for the other 80 would have involved trusting Manchester United.