Manchester United hit a new low under Ruben Amorim as they suffered an embarrassing defeat to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup second round after an epic penalty shootout following two errors from goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The pressure was already building on Amorim after failing to win either of their first two Premier League games and now, without European football, their chances of silverware this season have suffered a huge blow.
Bryan Mbeumo missed the 26th penalty of a marathon shootout to send the League Two side through after the tie had finished 2-2 in normal time.
Onana, making his first appearance of the season, was at fault for both Grimsby goals, allowing Charles Vernan’s 22nd-minute strike to go through him at his near post before missing his punch at a cross which gave Tyrell Warren a tap-in eight minutes later.
“It’s car crash TV as far as United and Onana are concerned,” said Sky Sports’ Alan Smith on co-commentary. “It always transmits to your defenders if your goalkeeper is a nervous wreck.”
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Grimsby Town score another goal and go 2-0 up in their Carabao Cup clash with Manchester United
Grimsby were then denied a third in the second half when Cameron Gardner’s strike was controversially ruled out for offside after Harry Maguire was deemed not to have intentionally played the ball, which set the striker through on goal.
Just three minutes later, Mbeumo, who came on at half-time, pulled one back with a placed effort for his first goal for Man Utd. The visitors threw everything at Grimsby late on and finally their pressure paid off when Maguire headed in from a corner with two minutes remaining.
But Man Utd failed to hold their nerve with Matheus Cunha seeing his spot kick saved when he had a chance to win the shootout, before Mbeumo missed with his second attempt to pile the pressure on Amorim.
Amorim: It’s not the goalkeeper, it’s everything
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Ruben Amorim reacted to Man Utd’s penalty defeat to Grimsby in the Carabao Cup and dismissed having a goalkeeper problem, saying the issue is with everything at the club.
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim told Sky Sports:
“It doesn’t matter if we recover [from 2-0 down] or not. It’s the signs the team made during the game. The beginning of the game.
“I know that the best team won, the only team that was on the pitch. The best players lose, because one team can win against any group of players.
“I think the team and the players spoke really loud today. That’s it. We lost. The best team won.”
Asked to clarify what he means by his players ‘spoke really loud’: “It’s really clear what they spoke. Let’s move on from this day. I think it was really clear for everybody what happened today.
“It’s not just the space, but the way we started the game without any intensity. All the ideas of the pressure, we were completely lost. It’s hard to explain. That’s what they spoke really loud.”
Is it the same as last season? “That is the problem. When you lose but you see something new, it’s different. When you see something different like today, it’s hard to talk about that.
“I just want to say I’m really sorry to the fans. The support they give me, the support that they are always, with all the defeats, with the team, today I have nothing to say apart from sorry.
“I think they gave the response on the pitch today. Now, we have a game in the weekend and then two weeks off. We will solve things out.”
On Onana’s performance: “With all due respect, when you play against a fourth division team, it’s not the goalkeeper, it’s everything. It’s the environment, it’s the way we face the competition. We know that in the moment, people will pay attention to everything, it’s massive – every detail. We showed that performance today. My players spoke for me, really loud.”
Artell: We should have won in 90 minutes!
Grimsby head coach David Artell told Sky Sports:
“The lads were terrific. They deserve every plaudit that will come their way. It was a terrific night for the club and the whole community. It’s one we’ve been working towards for a long time to get this football club back on the map.
“We played an excellent team with a very good manager, but we’ve got a group of players who want to work for each other and get better every day.
“The disappointing thing is we should have won in 90 minutes. It shouldn’t have gone to the most ridiculous penalty shootout of my whole career.”
