The boos rained down when Kobbie Mainoo was hauled off in the 90th minute against Fulham. United have already dropped as many points as they did in the whole of last season. Just 30 days into the campaign, Michael Carrick's return to Old Trafford has become a nightmare.
Two wins in seven matches tell part of the story. The English manager has made 10 glaring errors unbecoming of Manchester United, laying bare the scale of the collapse and leaving Carrick on the brink of the exit, according to "The Sun".
Tampering with the starting line-up: destroying the attacking identity
Handing a start to Ayden Heaven (19) was a catastrophic gamble. He had not started in the Premier League since the campaign opened on 22 August, and he came in against Hull City only because he is the sole left-footer in the absence of Lisandro Martinez, thrown up against a fierce striker like Oli McBurnie, with Mazraoui and Dalot ignored.
Three left wingers were available, yet Carrick chose Patrick Dorgu, the weakest of them, to start after a full preparation period. He lasted only 45 minutes.
That mistake had a knock-on effect. Matheus Cunha moved from the left wing, where he shone and scored throughout last season under Carrick, to centre forward, and lost his sharpness. Bryan Mbeumo, meanwhile, dropped back from centre forward, where he had scored in all his matches, to the right wing.
Against Ipswich, Everton and Fulham, a win, a draw and a defeat, Carrick insisted on the same line-up. More dangerously, the back four of Dalot, Maguire, Martinez and Shaw is the very one that lost 4-0 to Brentford in August 2022, United's worst match in Premier League history. It has conceded five goals in four matches this season.
Tactical suicide in managing the decisive matches
United led Everton 1-0 when Carrick took off Rashford on the grounds that he "felt something" and brought on Dorgu. It was a sign of weakness that gave Everton the audacity to bring on Jack Grealish, who equalised.
Shaw created Sesko's goal in the 88th minute. Then Carrick took off the full-backs Shaw and Dalot and brought on Leny Yoro and Mazraoui. Yoro narrowed the pitch and left space for Grealish, and Mazraoui hesitated to make the challenge, allowing Maitland-Niles the killer equaliser in the 95th minute.
Phil Foden was sent off in the 23rd minute against City, giving Carrick 22 minutes to think. Sesko was warming up and the Stretford End chanted his name, yet he did not bring him on until 19 minutes into the second half. By then Haaland had scored the winner.
When Sesko came on, Cunha dropped deeper and Bruno dropped even further into midfield. Moving the most dangerous playmaker away from City's goal while United were behind was suicide. No chance was created until the 95th minute.
Betting on the failed names
Brighton have won at Old Trafford for four consecutive seasons, and the cup night was not the occasion to make eight changes and include a 15-year-old on the bench.
Fielding Yoro and Heaven in front of goalkeeper Karl Darlow in his first match was an invitation for trouble. The trio were responsible for the three goals, making Brighton the first team to come back from 0-2 and win at Old Trafford since Tottenham in 1976.
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Joshua Zirkzee scored twice in Amorim's first win in December 2024. Since then he has managed only two league goals, and the club was ready to sell him in the summer after Everton got in touch with him.
Even so, he featured in three consecutive United defeats without any impact, at a time when Carrick should have been more creative than summoning a failed player.