Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough: Score, Reaction from 2015 Capital One Cup

Middlesbrough provided yet another shocking Capital One Cup upset on Wednesday, eliminating Manchester United on penalties after the two teams remained scoreless for 120 minutes at Old Trafford. Ashley Young missed the decisive penalty as the visitors won 3-1.

Chances were few during regulation, with Boro happy to sit back and defend and United showing little in terms of creativity—save for a mad spell inside the final minutes, where both teams had chances to score.

The hosts dominated extra-time, but chances were few, and Boro goalkeeper Tomas Mejias was the hero during the penalty shootout, saving two spot-kicks.

The draw for the next round will be made later on Wednesday.

As shared by United's official Twitter account, manager Louis van Gaal opted to rest a host of starters, including captain Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial:

Andreas Pereira and Jesse Lingard were given the opportunity to show their potential, as well as striker James Wilson, who hadn't featured much for the side during the current campaign.

Predictably, the revised squad struggled during the opening minutes, with Middlesbrough setting up their defence very deep. The Red Devils easily controlled the ball, but every time they worked an attack close to the Boro box, a defender seemed to stick out a leg or clear the ball, ruining all momentum.

Lingard should have been booked after 14 minutes for a rough tackle with his studs, but for some reason, the official decided to let the youngster off with a warning.

Manchester Evening News' James Robson thought a yellow card was the very least he deserved:

Three minutes later, United escaped another massive setback, as George Friend somehow failed to beat Sergio Romero from just a couple of yards out after the hosts failed to deal with a set piece.

Pereira and Memphis Depay switched flanks in order to give the hosts a boost, but during the first 30 minutes, United showed little as far as creativity goes. The team's attacks were stale and predictable, and Middlesbrough easily defended their goal and continued to eye the counter.

Robson was hardly impressed:

Neither were the visiting fans, who stole the show in the stands, via MailOnline Sport:

It took the hosts no less than 35 minutes to register their first shot on goal, despite dominating possession and working the ball around in Boro's half more often than not. Memphis played in Wilson, who couldn't place his shot wide enough of goalkeeper Meijas.

Marouane Fellaini came close to opening the score just before half-time after a perfect corner from Pereira, but the big Belgian's shot from close range was blocked at the last second by Friend. On the other side of the pitch, Romero showed his quality with a superb stop to deny Stewart Downing.

United finished the first half slightly better than they started it, but at half-time, the home fans still had plenty of reasons to jeer. Van Gaal had seen enough and decided to introduce Rooney in the hope the veteran could add a spark.

Bleacher Report UK couldn't help itself:

Van Gaal's half-time talk certainly seemed to inspire the Red Devils, as the team showed a little more urgency and creativity to start the second half. Rooney won the ball back and set up Memphis, who tried his luck from distance and nearly opened the score thanks to a howler from Mejias.

The Middlesbrough goalkeeper almost failed to make the routine save, letting the powerful drive slip and roll toward goal before recovering just in time.

He did better to deny Pereira minutes later, as the Brazilian tried his luck from long range as well. Fellaini also put the stopper to the test, but none of the Red Devils' attacks amounted to goals.

On the other side of the pitch, Michael Carrick had to produce a superb tackle to stop Kike, who got past Chris Smalling far too easily.

Mejias nearly had an enormous howler in the second half, but the same goes for Romero, who completely missed a touch from a back-pass of Daley Blind and was fortunate enough to see the ball roll past the right side of the post.

Sports writer Liam Canning was almost begging for Victor Valdes at this point:

Romero redeemed himself with a excellent save on Grant Leadbitter, before Old Trafford screamed for a penalty after an apparent handball from Daniel Ayala. Replays confirmed Matteo Darmian's cross hit him in the arm, and it certainly wasn't an easy call to make.

The visitors were happy to join United in midfield and put up a few attacks themselves early in the second half, but with about 20 minutes left to play, they returned to their defensive tactics and started playing for a draw.

With the final whistle fast approaching, both teams came agonisingly close to winning it. First, Lingard volleyed the ball onto the post, before Romero produced two superb stops in two minutes, denying Leadbitter and Kike. 

After 90 minutes, extra time would decide the winner. Robson wished both sides had played like they did during the last five minutes:

Boro started extra-time with nearly all of their players in or near the box, determined no to concede, and united failed to break down their defence, leading to few chances in the first half. A beautiful exchange between Fellaini, Rooney and Pereira nearly saw the latter connect with the ball right underneath the cross bar, but somehow, the attack didn't produce a goal.

Pereira went down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury early in the second half of extra-time and had to be sidelined, meaning the Red Devils were forced to play on with 10 men, as Van Gaal had used up all of his substitutions.

That didn't stop United from pushing forward, however. Martial, who had come on in the second half, nearly got a shot off from a promising position, but Ayala once again came to the rescue for Middlesbrough.

Canning thought the defender was immense for the visitors:

Emilio Nsue undoubtedly produced one of the top moments of the match with an impressive bit of skill, which drew praise from the Middlesbrough fans, before tripping over the ball and falling flat on his place with his next turn, to the delight of the home fans.

Joe.co.uk's Matthew Stanger summed up the sequence best:

Fellaini set up Pereira, who had come back onto the pitch, but the youngster couldn't keep composure and fired a shot wide with minutes left to play.

Martial should have won United the match in the final minute after Lingard headed a ball back across goal, but the young Frenchman failed to aim his header on target from six yards out. Fellaini squandered the hosts' final chance, and a penalty shootout followed.

Per OptaJoe (via Bleacher Report UK), that was bad news for the hosts:

Leadbitter went first for Boro and converted, before Mejias denied Rooney. David Nugent blasted his kick over the bar, allowing the young Pereira to level things with a cool strike.

Downing put Boro back in front, but Carrick couldn't match the forward, as he sliced his kick over the bar. Ben Gibson smashed his shot into the net, and Ashley Young failed to keep United's hopes alive, as Mejias produced another save to put Boro in the next round.

It's a wonderful result for Middlesbrough, who traveled to Old Trafford with a defensive game plan and stuck with it. United become the third high-profile Premier League club to exit the tournament at this stage, following Chelsea's and Arsenal's losses on Tuesday.

Post-Match Reaction

As shared by Squawka News, Van Gaal was quite upset with the final result:

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