Manchester United were stunned in a dramatic shootout on a famous night for Grimsby Town
08:14, 28 Aug 2025Updated 09:10, 28 Aug 2025
Ruben Amorim’s Man United were humiliated by Grimsby Town
Manchester United suffered a major setback after they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two side Grimsby Town on Wednesday night.
The home side opened the scoring when Charles Vernam’s shot beat Andre Onana at the near post. Then, just eight minutes later, the United goalkeeper was at fault again, failing to deal with a cross that allowed Tyrell Warren to bundle the ball into an empty net.
Bryan Mbeumo netted his first goal for the club with 15 minutes remaining, before Harry Maguire equalised for United with a header in the 89th minute. In the penalty shootout, misses from Clarke Oduor and Matheus Cunha took the contest to sudden death.
Ultimately, it was Mbeumo who missed the decisive spot-kick, handing Grimsby a dramatic 12-11 victory. And below is a look at what the national media had to say on events at Blundell Park.
‘Manchester United sink to new low after losing penalty shoot-out to Grimsby’
The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath wrote: “This infamous defeat amid lightning and thunderstorms in Cleethorpes only adds weight to Ruben Amorim’s assessment that we are watching the worst team in Manchester United’s history. The unrestrained joy of Grimsby’s celebrations should be the lasting memory of this League Cup tie but it will inevitably be United sinking to one of their lowest moments in the modern era.
“Amorim was goaded by home fans, suggesting he would be sacked in the morning. The Portuguese coach will last longer, yet this embarrassing giant-killing will lead to questions over whether this team are set up to win matches in English football. Up against their League Two opponents, they looked shell-shocked facing players with more will to win. While they mounted a comeback from 2-0 down to force penalties, they had clearly done no homework on spot kicks as Andre Onana seemed to be jumping away from the ball as each strike found the net.
“Some of the best talent at Amorim’s disposal has left or is leaving the club, while those who have remained are not getting used properly. United’s team were littered with expensive signings and full internationals, yet they fell short in the basics of the game to a team 56 places below them in the football pyramid. They were battered like the fish brought into the nearby port.”
‘Man United humiliated by Grimsby in shoot-out epic after Onana howler’
Paul Hirst of The Times wrote: “The Main Stand at Blundell Park has experienced some sights and sounds in its 124-year existence, but it has never heard a roar like the one that bellowed around this ground after Bryan Mbeumo missed the penalty that condemned Manchester United to one of the most embarrassing defeats in their history. When Mbeumo’s penalty struck the bar, giving Grimsby Town a 12-11 penalty shoot-out win, mums and dads in the home end hoisted their young ones in the air, mates wearing black-and-white shirts embraced and many of them dabbed a tear from their eye.
“Never have they experienced such a feeling, but then again, never have Grimsby put a club with such history as United to the sword. As the celebrations broke out, five yards in front of this grand old Victorian stand stood Ruben Amorim, drenched and demoralised after watching his team defeated by League Two opposition. Amorim wants to get his team back into Europe. He will not be able to qualify through the Carabao Cup because his pathetic excuse of a team fell at the first hurdle in one of the greatest shocks that this competition has ever known.
“So much for the pre-season optimism surrounding United. This was an even more embarrassing loss than other shock defeats, such as the one to MK Dons 11 years ago. Grimsby did not fluke their way to this shock win. They did not put ten men behind the ball and nick two lucky goals. They deserved to win, they had more quality, more composure, more desire and they looked more tactically astute. Those last two points in particular should worry Amorim’s paymasters the most. How can a team of the fourth division press the United defence into submission? How can they make Benjamin Sesko look so poor. And why was the Slovenian the last outfield player to take a penalty in the XI?”
‘Glorious Grimsby humiliate Man United with shootout victory’
Jamie Jackson of The Guardian wrote: “Manchester United – bloody hell. After a quasi-farcical display that somehow pulled them back to 2-2 and penalties, Ruben Amorim’s rabble lost a fevered shootout 12-11.. Amorim’s men lost it – so the inquest begins. The head coach and his side hobble next to the visit of Burnley on Saturday. It does not need a vivid imagination to picture United losing that one too and extending their winless run to the opening four outings of an already stricken campaign.
“Amorim may survive a defeat at Old Trafford – he has just overseen a £200m-plus summer spend, after all – but the bottom line is this: nine months into the job the head coach continues to put out a team that lack verve, flair, solidity and anything approaching a discernible pattern of play. After the farrago of his side’s performance Amorim stood pitchside and was regaled with jubilant verses of ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’: this cruel wit sharply crystallises the state United are in – and their coach is culpable.
“Cue a Grimsby support in party mode, their taunts a cutting ‘can we play you every week’, and ‘Premier League/you’re having a laugh’. They had a point. Grimsby were in cruise control, toying with their shellshocked guest. When Sesko managed a header you were reminded that United were allowed to attack – too. Amorim’s substitutions had failed to engineer any dominance and when Diallo was flagged offside his manager dipped his head in anguish – a regular sensation for him.”
‘Man United hit new low against Grimsby to raise unthinkable Ruben Amorim question’
Pete Hall of The Independent wrote: “Manchester United getting battered in Grimsby is a headline that writes itself. But nothing plucked from the North Sea has ever been treated to this kind of humiliation. Four hundred million pounds. 711 Premier League appearances between them. And that was just the starting XI. This was not your bog-standard cup giant-killing, when a plucky minnow overcomes an elite top-flight side who have rested their 11 best players.
“Grimsby Town, three divisions below, played the might of Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, off the park for long periods of a football match. They did not weather an almighty westerly storm. Their goalkeeper did not have to have the game of his life. They deserved their place in the history books. But be under no illusion, sneaking through to a shootout thanks to a Harry Maguire header at the death, when you have your entire attacking arsenal on the pitch, is humiliating enough.
“Never mind getting sacked in the morning, Ruben Amorim must be considering walking after this. How much more can one man take? Just when you thought Manchester United couldn’t make things any worse, they remain the gift that keeps on giving. You couldn’t tell as the match got underway. United were second to everything.”
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