United must turn it around at Old Trafford in League Cup
David Moyes
By Chris
January 8 2014
Manchester United suffered a third successive defeat for the first time since 2001, as they went down 2-1 in the League Cup semi-final, first-leg at Sunderland.
The Red Devils are still favourites to reach the Wembley final, but will need to overturn a one goal deficit in the return match at Old Trafford.
United showed a worrying lack of creativity at the Stadium of Light, with Adnan Januzaj's performance not matched by many of his team mates.
Whilst David Moyes' men may feel hard done by to have suffered another defeat, the failure to regularly trouble Sunderland 'keeper Vita Mannone will have caused concern for the travelling 4,800 supporters, who were in terrific voice throughout.
The deadlock was broken seconds before the half-time whistle. As Ryan Giggs attempted to prevent ex-Red Phil Bardsley turning home after Wes Brown had volleyed on a free-kick, the Welshman ended up diverting the ball into his own net.
Moyes' men, who'd had a goal ruled out in the first-half correctly for offside, struck back quickly after the interval. Nemanja Vidic beat former team-mates Brown and John O'Shea in the air to nod home Tom Cleverley's corner and restore parity.
The hosts seized back the initiative, however, with a penalty kick ultimately settling the contest. Referee Andre Marriner had waved play on as Cleverley challenged Adam Johnson, but the linesman had other ideas and Fabio Borini kept his cool from twelve yards.
United threatened considerably in the closing stages as they looked to avoid defeat for the first time in 2014, but they failed to carve out enough clear cut opportunities and must now bounce back to keep this season's dreams of winning the League Cup for a fifth time alive.
Full Time - Sunderland 2-1 Manchester United
Attendance - 31,547