It seemed that, after a couple of seasons without silverware, and with Chelsea and Arsenal out of the way, Manchester United could be considered as a top contender to win one trophy. But Middlesbrough, the same side that eliminated Manchester City from the FA Cup, went to the other half of Manchester and defeated the Red Devils in an exciting penalty shootout.
Van Gaal decided to rest some of his key performers, including David De Gea, Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial. As the game came to a close, Rooney and Martial came in, but there was no change in the game's scoreboard, so after 120 minutes, the Red Devils faced a possible elimination from the spot, and they were no match for the Championship side.
Wayne Rooney missed the first shot for United, but luck seemed to give them another chance as Nugent saw his penalty fly over the bar. Pereira made it 1-1 and everything started from scratch. Then, consecutive misses by Michael Carrick and Ashley Young, combined with Stewart Downing's finish and Ben Gibson's PK, sealed the fate of Van Gaal's crew, who once again saw his team go out of the tournament in the early stages of the competition.
Of course, fans had a field day trolling Manchester United, who will watch from the sidelines as other teams fight for the Cup. Here are some of their best comments.
"Eliminated during the Capital One Cup Round of 16 matches: X Arsenal X Chelsea X Manchester United."
ELIMINADOS en Octavos de Final de la Capital One Cup: ✖ Arsenal. ✖ Chelsea. ✖ Manchester United. pic.twitter.com/MieJRfmfED
— Invictos (@SomosInvictos) October 28, 2015
Manchester United are OUT! pic.twitter.com/TQUdiVXx7j
— Football Funnys (@FootballFunnys) October 28, 2015
Great @ManUtd. Just great pic.twitter.com/QVHrkCTMDW
— Tobe uba (@Tobeuba) October 28, 2015
If a man steals 300k a week from a bank he's called a thief! If a man steals 300k a week from a football club he's called Wayne Rooney#mufc
— Mitch Clarke (@mitch5clarke) October 28, 2015
LvG must accept the fact that @WayneRooney has past his peak. #MUFC
— AlwaysRed (@fuzy_sk) October 28, 2015
SELL WAYNE ROONEY!!!!! SELL IT!!!! sir Alex said he was past his best THREE SEASONS AGO! Scholes said it too!!! THEY WERE RIGHT!!
— The Iron Walker (@Cyrus_ThaVirus) October 28, 2015
Trying to work out how Wayne Rooney earns £300,000 a week. pic.twitter.com/zRZuuB5bFG
— Football Funnys (@FootballFunnys) October 28, 2015
MANCHESTER UNITED HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT BY BORO! pic.twitter.com/H2H8LIu9KS
— FBTP (@fbtp1) October 28, 2015
Manchester United fans went from " you have to challenge in every comp" to " its a Micky mouse cup" so quick.
— (@GoonerJaga) October 28, 2015
Young misses. UNITED OUT. https://t.co/ZwaickUGhB
— Boylesports (@BoyleSports) October 28, 2015
My dog found Michael Carrick's penalty. pic.twitter.com/9ta3FtQJgL
— MCFC Denver (@MCFCDenver) October 28, 2015
WHY IS MICHAEL CARRICK STILL ON THE TEAM
— jason koster (@jasonkoster15) October 28, 2015
A reminder that Michael Carrick still plays for England. pic.twitter.com/I5KVe5kWxK
— bet365 (@bet365) October 28, 2015