NEW DELHI: Manchester United, the reigning League Cup champions, began their title defence with an impressive 3-0 victory over Premier League rivals Crystal Palace during the third round on Tuesday. However, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Luton Town suffered surprising defeats to lower-division opponents.
Wolves initially surged ahead with a 2-0 lead but ultimately succumbed to a 3-2 defeat against Ipswich Town, a high-flying team from the Championship, the second tier of English football.
On the other hand, Luton Town, who recently earned promotion to the Premier League, suffered a 1-0 loss against Exeter City, a League One side, which compete in the third tier of English football.
Exeter City managed to secure the win despite being reduced to 10 players when Demetri Mitchell received a second yellow card just five minutes after scoring the decisive goal in the 83rd minute.
Meanwhile, Vincent Kompany's Burnley, who have struggled to secure a Premier League win this season, dominated their League Two opponents, Salford City, with a comprehensive 4-0 victory, fielding a second-string team.
The match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United took an unfortunate turn for Palace when their goalkeeper, Dean Henderson, who had joined the club from United in August, had to leave the field after just 19 minutes.
Henderson appeared to have sustained a leg injury while attempting a routine long kick. He was replaced by Sam Johnstone, another product of Manchester United's academy, but shortly thereafter, Johnstone found himself picking the ball out of the net. Diogo Dalot cut back from the byline, setting up Alejandro Garnacho to sweep in a right-footed shot.
Casemiro, the Brazilian midfielder, had a standout performance, extending Manchester United's lead to 2-0 in the 27th minute with a looping header into the far corner from Mason Mount's corner kick. Anthony Martial added a third goal in the 55th minute, recording his first goal of the season. He capitalized on defensive errors to latch onto a cross from Casemiro at the back post, firing the ball past Johnstone.
This match was the only fixture of the night that featured two Premier League clubs facing each other. They are set to meet again in a league match at Old Trafford on Saturday.
(With Reuters inputs)
