Manchester United’s collapse at Old Trafford deepens despite late escape; Brighton climbed to second place in the Premier League

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick, Andrey Santos, Matheus Cunha and Kobbie Mainoo after the match. (Photo by Reuters) Manchester United created another night of mayhem at Old Trafford, recovering from a two-goal deficit inside the opening four minutes before scoring twice in stoppage time to grab a dramatic 4-4 draw against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.Substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu came to the rescue with late goals after United looked destined for another crushing defeat. But the spirited comeback did little to mask the club’s mounting problems as Michael Carrick’s side continue to languish in the relegation zone heading into the international break.United remain 18th in the table with just one win from 10 league games, extending their winless streak in the competition to eight games. The result also came against the background of renewed protests by supporters against the ownership of the club.

United fight back but Carrick remains under pressure

The visitors stunned Old Trafford by scoring twice in the first four minutes through Alysson and Nicolas Jackson, leaving United with another mountain to climb when they return to Champions League action against Roma in midweek.Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty before Youri Tielemans restored parity before the break to raise hopes of a turnaround.However, Villa regained control in the second half as John McGinn converted a penalty and Leon Goretzka added another goal to put the visitors 4-2 up.United looked beaten until Zirkzee pulled one back before Dorgu headed home from a corner in the sixth minute of added time to complete an extraordinary escape.However, the comeback did not ease the uncertainty surrounding Carrick’s future. United have not won a league game since August 30 and their worst start to the campaign since 1986-87.Carrick insisted he had no intention of leaving despite the difficult circumstances.“That’s not going to happen,” he said, adding that the team needs to fix its mistakes and start winning football games.With the international break giving the club’s hierarchy an opportunity to assess the situation, speculation over Carrick’s position is likely to continue ahead of United’s next league game against bitter rivals Liverpool on November 22.

Brighton moved into second place as Liverpool stormed back

While United remained in trouble, Brighton continued their impressive campaign and moved up to second in the table with a 2-0 win over Brentford.Goals from Diego Gomez and Pascal Gross gave Fabian Hurzeler’s side a seventh win in 10 games, and they now trail leaders and defending champions Arsenal by five points.Liverpool also returned to winning ways when they beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park after back-to-back Premier League and Champions League defeats.Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak found the net for Liverpool, while Eddie Nketiah scored a penalty in stoppage time for Palace. The defeat left Palace bottom of the table and increased the pressure on manager Pierre Sage.Meanwhile, Chelsea surprisingly suffered a 0-1 defeat against relegation-threatened Sunderland. Enzo Le Fee converted a first-half penalty at the Stadium of Light to hand Sunderland three valuable points and leave Chelsea fifth. Liverpool climbed to fourth place.Bournemouth also cemented their position in the top half with a 2-1 win away at Ipswich. Evanilson opened the scoring with his seventh goal in eight games before a Leif Davis own goal doubled the visitors’ advantage. Jack Clarke converted a second-half penalty for Ipswich but Bournemouth held on to move up to seventh.