Brighton & Hove Albion came from two goals down to beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, knocking Carrick's side out of the Carabao Cup at the third-round stage and drawing audible boos from the home supporters at full time.
Shea Lacey and Mason Mount had put United 2-0 ahead within 10 minutes, but the hosts could not hold what they had built. Charalampos Kostoulas pulled one back just before half-time, Pascal Gross levelled in the second half and substitute Maxim De Cuyper struck to complete the turnaround. It was the first time in 50 years that United had surrendered a two-goal lead to lose at home.
Fabian Hürzeler had made six changes to the Brighton side that beat Coventry 5-0 on Sunday, including handing four summer signings their first starts for the club. The visitors registered 18 shots, five big chances and 39 touches inside the United penalty area across the 90 minutes.
Carrick refused to deflect blame after the final whistle. "Under pressure? That doesn't bother me one bit," he said. "I understand what goes on and how the world works. What bothers me is winning games and I believe we will do, but we have to do it pretty quickly. We can't accept that [the manner of the defeat] as a group. I take responsibility for it. The performance towards the end of the second half, that's on me. We have a big game on Sunday that we have to prepare for. We're out of this competition and we have to go back to winning football matches. It doesn't feel good at the moment."
The manager also addressed the position of 15-year-old academy player JJ Gabriel, who has told the club he wants to leave. Carrick said the priority was Gabriel's welfare as a child rather than the public narrative around his departure, and urged caution about how much exposure the situation should attract.
United have now taken four points from four Premier League fixtures and sit 13th in the table. Their only victories this season have come against Ipswich in the league and Azerbaijani champions Sabah in the Champions League. The defeat was also their third in six games overall — more than Carrick suffered across his entire 17-match interim spell last season.
Benjamin Sesko started as central striker but endured a difficult night. In 66 minutes on the pitch he managed only 23 touches, completed eight of 14 attempted passes and finished without a single shot or chance created. He lost possession 13 times and won only four of nine physical duels. United's crossing was similarly toothless, with just one of 10 attempts completed.
Hürzeler was measured but clear about what the result meant. "I definitely believed and belief was a big word in the preparation for us," he said. "When you go to a place like here, you need to have belief and then to show it when you are 2-0 down shows real character." Brighton will travel in the next round to face the winner of Thursday's tie between Manchester City and Norwich.
United now turn their attention to the Premier League with a trip to Fulham on Sunday, their final outing before the international break. They do not return to action for 20 days.
Reporting: The Sun, Football Insider, Metro, CaughtOffside, Mirror, TeamTalk, GiveMeSport, The Athletic, ESPN, Sky Sports, The Guardian, talkSPORT, BBC Sport, Evening Standard.