Louis van Gaal’s short Manchester United reign hit a shambolic new low as they were dumped out of the League Cup by a 4-0 defeat at MK Dons.
Will Grigg and Benik Afobe were the heroes at stadium:mk on Tuesday in the second-round clash, scoring a brace apiece for the League One side to further add to the woes of United’s much-anticipated new boss.
With a 2-1 home reverse to Swansea City and 1-1 draw at Sunderland representing a poor start to United’s Premier League campaign, Van Gaal must have viewed this fixture as an opportunity to grab a simple opening win.
But even the feel-good factor generated by the completion of Angel di Maria’s British transfer record move to Old Trafford in the hours leading up to kick-off could not bring an improvement on the pitch.
The last time they entered the competition at this phase, in 1995, United suffered the ignominy of losing a two-legged tie 4-3 to York City – including a 3-0 reverse at Old Trafford.
And memories of such embarrassment were brought back to the fore as MK Dons outworked and, most damningly, out-passed their illustrious opponents to secure a famous triumph.
A United team loaded with players determined to catch Van Gaal’s eye started confidently as Danny Welbeck, in particular, caused problems.
The visitors’ endeavour almost brought immediate reward, Nick Powell curling just over the crossbar.
Capital One Cup:
AFC Bournemouth 3 – 0 Northampton Town
Brentford 0 – 1 Fulham
Burnley 0 – 1 Sheffield Wednesday
Crewe Alexandra 2 – 3 Bolton Wanderers
Derby County 1 – 0 Charlton Athletic
Gillingham 0 – 1 Newcastle United
Huddersfield Town 0 – 2 Nottingham Forest
Leicester City 0 – 1 Shrewsbury Town
Middlesbrough 3 – 1 Preston North End
Millwall 0 – 2 Southampton
Norwich City 3 – 1 Crawley Town
Port Vale 2 – 3 Cardiff City
Scunthorpe United 0 – 1 Reading
Swansea City 1 – 0 Rotherham United
Swindon Town 2 – 4 Brighton & Hove Albion
Walsall 0 – 3 Crystal Palace
Watford 1 – 2 Doncaster Rovers
West Ham United 1 – 1 Sheffield United *
Milton Keynes Dons 4 – 0 Manchester United
West Bromwich Albion * 1 – 1 Oxford United
Source: soccerway.com
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