New Delhi: Manchester United crashed to a historic loss to get knocked out of the English League Cup, going down 12-11 in a marathon penalty shootout to fourth-tier Grimsby Town.
The match was pushed to a shootout after it ended 2-2 after regulation time. Man U had trailed for much of the match and needed two late goals to force the match into penalties.
They remain winless in the 2025-26 season as they drew 1-1 against Fulham and lost 1-0 to Arsenal in their first two English Premier League matches, to be placed 16th in the standings early on in the campaign.
United slumped to their first loss to a fourth-tier team and it was witnessed by 8647 away fans in Cleesthorpes.
They trailed the League Two team 2-0 in the first 30 minutes as Charles Vernam (22′) and Tyrell (30′) Warren scored for Grimsby.
Man U fought back with goals from Bryan Mbeumo (75′) and Harry Maguire (89′) to trigger the shootout. But Mbeumo’s penalty hit the crossbar as Grimsby won their first meeting with United since 1948.
Ruben Amorim’s post-match reaction.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 27, 2025
‘Completely lost’
United had nine shots on goal and enjoyed 70 percent of ball possession, compared to Grimsby’s four shots and 30 percent possession, but manager Ruben Amorim said they were second best throughout the match.
“I think the team and the players spoke really loud today, so that’s it. [Tonight] I think the best team won, the only team that was on the pitch,” he told the BBC.
“I think it’s really clear what they spoke, so let’s move on from this day. I think it was clear for everybody what happened today.
“The way we start the game without any intensity, we were completely lost. In this moment, we need to focus on the weekend and then we have time to think.”