Man Utd misery continues with League Cup shootout defeat to Grimsby

GRIMSBY, England :Manchester United plumbed new depths as fourth-tier Grimsby Town knocked them out of the League Cup 12-11 on penalties after a 2-2 draw on a tumultuous night at Blundell Park on Wednesday.

Goals by Charles Vernam and former Manchester United youth player Tyrell Warren put the hosts in charge of the second-round tie by halftime against the six-time winners.

But after thunder and lightning and a torrential rain squall, United finally came to their senses with Bryan Mbeumo's first goal for his new club offering them an escape route.

Grimsby defended their lead valiantly but Harry Maguire's 89th-minute header sent the tie to penalties.

A nerve-shredding shootout that lasted 18 minutes saw Matheus Cunha have his effort saved when he had the chance to seal it for United. The next 15 penalties were all scored before Mbeumo struck the crossbar to send the home fans into delirium.

United manager Ruben Amorim watched the penalties hunkered down in the dugout and the Portuguese coach, who replaced Erik ten Hag last season, will now find himself under intense scrutiny after a horror show on the banks of the Humber River.

"I know that the best team won, the only team that was on the pitch, the best players lose," a cryptic Amorim told Sky Sports. "I think that the team and the players spoke really loud today, so that's it, we lost, the best team won."

There were no such problems for the other Premier League sides in action with Brighton and Hove Albion winning 6-0 at Oxford United, Everton beating Mansfield Town 2-0 and Fulham overcoming second-tier Bristol City 2-0.

After picking up one point from their opening two Premier League games, this was supposed to be the night United got their season moving. Instead they suffered