United lose on penalties to League Two Grimsby. No excuses.
Yes, you read that right. United played Grimsby Town in the second round of the EFL Cup and lost. On penalties.
There’s no way to sugar-coat it. No ifs, no buts. When you have a squad worth over a billion pounds, you beat Grimsby Town. If you don’t, then serious questions need asking, not just about the players, but about the manager, the system, and the entire direction of the club.
The Stadium, The Start… And The Shock
It all started at a ground where you could literally see the burger vans from the stands. The opening minutes didn’t inspire much confidence either. Onana kept hoofing long balls, and we couldn’t string together any control. Not ideal when you’re playing a League Two side.
Then, disaster.
Amad lost the ball. The defence clashed into each other. Onana, once again poor at low saves, let in a very soft goal. 1–0 to Grimsby.
It got worse. Grimsby had a second ruled out for handball. Then came another Onana error, beaten by a cross. 2–0 down. Dalot was having a nightmare. Losing the ball, poor in duels, constantly out of position.
Despite having 62% of the ball, we had zero big chances in the opening 38 minutes. Grimsby had one. And looked far more like a team with a plan.
Poor Setup, Poor Response
I’ll say this: when Grimsby look more tactically organised than Manchester United, something is seriously wrong. Their long balls, their tempo control, it all worked. We, on the other hand, looked confused.
Half-time came.
Amorim made three changes; De Ligt came on for Fredricson, Bruno replaced Ugarte, and Mbeumo came on for Dorgu. But the energy stayed flat. Grimsby almost made it 3–0 not long after.
Even if we somehow scraped through, the questions would remain. Why were we this poorly set up? Why did a team like Grimsby outplay us for large spells?
Mainoo, Maguire Drag It Back (Kind Of)
At 75 minutes, finally some quality.
Mainoo drifted past a couple in midfield and laid off a simple ball to Mbeumo, who placed it low and clean into the bottom corner. 2–1.
And in the dying minutes, Maguire pulled a Hail Mary at 89th min. A solid header to equalise. 2–2. But even then, De Ligt had a golden chance to win it in stoppage time and hoofed it.
We didn’t deserve to win. Not on the balance of play. Not on the chances. Not on attitude.
Penalty Shootout Embarrassment
And then came the penalties. A long, drawn-out shootout. Onana made one good save early on, but after that, nothing. Mbeumo missed our 12th penalty. Grimsby won 12–11.
Let that sink in.
Let’s Talk About Onana
Onana cannot start.
Simple as that. His shot-stopping is nowhere near good enough. Low shots beat him regularly. Even when he guesses the right way, he lets them in. One decent save in a long shootout isn’t enough to make up for two huge errors across 90 minutes.
A Word On Amorim
I’ve backed Amorim. I still want to. But how long can this go on?
You beat Bournemouth in pre-season. You outplay Arsenal at home. And then this? Against Grimsby?
Dalot and Onana were poor, but this wasn’t just about individuals. Tactically, we were all over the place. A League Two side shouldn’t look more structured than us, but they did.
And at some point, that’s on the manager.
Final Thoughts
This verdict was written live as the match played out. In the moment, raw and honest. But even after sleeping on it, my view doesn’t change.
We were tactically poor, our attitude looked off, and Grimsby deserved what they got. Yes, this is the EFL Cup. But this was also a chance to build rhythm, rest key players, and get confidence back. Instead, we got embarrassed.
If i had to predict when he is going to sack i would say it would be before or the game after Man city.
Till next time. Yanited, Yanited, Yanited.
UNITED SCRIPTED. 
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