In the second round of the 2025/26 League Cup, Manchester United, despite goals from Mbeke Mbomo and Harry Maguire in regular time, were eliminated 11-12 on penalties by League Two side Grimsby Town. United defender Diogo Dalot stated that the team's performance was truly poor and that they had lost the opportunity to prove their worthiness to remain in the competition.

Darragh Burns assisted Charles Vernane to score a volley in the 22nd minute, helping Grimsby Town take the lead 1-0. In the 30th minute, Manchester United goalkeeper Onana made a mistake when he attacked, and Tyrrell Warren received the pass from Charles Vernane in the melee and pushed the ball into the empty goal, helping Grimsby Town continue to lead Manchester United 2-0.

In the 75th minute of the second half, Kobe Menou passed the ball, Mbomo received it and broke into the penalty area and shot into the goal, helping Manchester United to tie the score 1-2. In the 89th minute, Mount took a corner kick and Maguire headed the ball into the goal, helping Manchester United to tie the score 2-2.

The match went to penalties, with Cunha and Mbomo missing theirs. Ultimately, Manchester United lost to Grimsby Town 11-12 on penalties, failing to advance to the next round of the English League Cup.

Dalot, 26, said: "It was clear that we didn't perform well enough, especially in the first half, and we gave the victory to the opponent. We gave the opponent everything they wanted, including confrontation, ball possession and set pieces. We fought hard to catch up, but I think this is just the minimum performance we can show to the fans who came from afar, ourselves and the club."

“We can’t expect to come here and win easily because Grimsby Town fought so hard in this competition and deserved to be promoted. But it shouldn’t be enough to defeat us because we should have given more.”

In addition, Dalot also said, "It's not just a technical aspect, the minimum standard must be maintained in every game. I think the best way to respect Grimsby Town is to play this game with all our strength, and I think this is where we must improve in the future."

"I don't want to keep saying the same thing over and over again, we lost the chance to prove we deserved to stay in this competition."

On the other hand, Manchester United will face newly promoted Burnley at Old Trafford in the next round of the Premier League, and Amorim's team must get rid of the shadow of recent winless streak in order to achieve a breakthrough result.