Manchester United's Carabao Cup second-round loss at Grimsby last season was a result that many will remember. It was a defeat which became synonymous with former Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim's time in charge. That was a very bad night for United, and although Wednesday's defeat at home to Brighton did not feel as significant, there were similarities for the man who succeeded Amorim, Michael Carrick.
Man Utd's captain for the loss, Youri Tielemans, admitted afterwards that once they went 2-0 down, his side stopped playing - and that was pretty evident by their performance. You could sense at Old Trafford from 20 minutes onwards that Brighton were in the ascendancy and the game was only going to go one way. Despite bringing on Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, United failed to make an impression.
That is what will truly worry head coach Carrick. After the few defeats Carrick has suffered since his return to the club in January, he has always backed his players or found positive qualities in the performances, but there was no such redemption to be found against Brighton. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player When Carrick and his staff first came in, they deservedly received a lot of praise.
Defensively they looked tight and compact and that led to impressive wins against Manchester City and Arsenal. The likes of Steve Holland, Jonathan Woodgate and Jonny Evans made an immediate improvement to the defensive unit. But, equally, questions have to be raised now about the frailties that same defence is showing this season.
Carrick's side have conceded two goals in three of their four Premier League games. The defence was exposed once again in the Brighton loss. Yes, one goal was a goalkeeping error by Karl Darlow, but aside from the goals conceded, the shape and understanding of the back four lacked any sort of coherence.
Left-back predictably is an issue for Carrick. He has yet to acknowledge the area as a specific weakness as per his style when engaging in the media, but it is a significant problem - one the United hierarchy knew about going into the summer's transfer window. Luke Shaw, United's only senior left-back at the club, has missed the last three games through a minor injury, but considering his age and injury track record - despite his excellent availability last season - it was naive not to strengthen in that area.
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