Manchester United fell to Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup earlier on Wednesday with penalty misses by Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young.
Boro goalkeeper Tomas Mejias saved Young and Rooney’s penalties, while Carrick skyrocketed his effort over the bar giving the visitors a pass to the quarterfinals in Old Trafford.
Both went the 90 minutes without scoring, nothing in particular happened in extra time and the penalties were in favor of the Championship side.
For United, the likes of Memphis Depay and Marouane Fellaini did little to prove their consideration from Louis Van Gaal in high-profile fixtures. Memphis in particular constantly lost procession with loose touches and firing half-way line shots to the opposition.
Van Gaal was also not pleased with James Wilson‘s contribution as he was taken off for Rooney in the half. Rooney also proved to not be in his best form as he did not have a shot on goal for the entire second half, not taking anything away from the Englishman but the rest of the team did not do much to contribute either.
Credits go out to Boro defenders Thomas Kalas and Daniel Ayala who proved to be a solid partnership in the heart of the defense. Former Liverpool player Stewart Downing also proved to be a danger man as he had three shots on United’s goal.
Many fans want Rooney to be benched for the upcoming games, it seems like Van Gaal has considered it as he started in the bench today.
