Where are they now? Manchester United’s XI beaten 4-0 by MK Dons
Back in August 2014, Manchester United were victims of one of the biggest cup upsets in modern times when MK Dons thumped four goals past them in the League Cup.
The 4-0 defeat to the League One outfit continued Louis van Gaal’s miserable start to life in Manchester following an opening-day defeat to Swansea and a draw at Sunderland.
We took a look back at the squad who were left red-faced by MK Dons, and let’s just say not many of them had much success with the Red Devils.
GK: David de Gea
Okay, so De Gea is an anomaly.
He won the club’s Player of the Year award a record four times and remained United’s number-one goalkeeper until the end of last season. He couldn’t stop Will Grigg or Benik Afobe, though.
CB: Jonny Evans
The defender was just two appearances away from 200 with Manchester United before he moved to West Brom in 2015.
He spent three seasons there but left the Baggies for Leicester City when they dropped down into the Championship. In a bizarre turn of events, Evans is back at United after signing a short-term contract this summer.
CB: Michael Keane
Keane was cursed by the MK Dons defeat as he never got the chance to wear the red shirt again.
After being sold to Burnley, Jose Mourinho tried to bring the centre-half back to Old Trafford, but Keane chose Everton and remains at the heart of the Toffees defence to this day.
CB: Marnick Vermijl
Just like Keane, this game meant the end for Vermijl at Old Trafford.
He made the move to Sheffield Wednesday before moving onto Preston North End but fell to the bottom of the pile when Alex Neil was appointed.
He now finds himself at Belgian National Division 1 side Thes Sport. No, we’ve never heard of them either.
RWB: Saidy Janko (Andreas Pereira, ’45)
Here’s another who lasted just one game – well, half of a game – in a Manchester United shirt.
The full-back moved north of the border to play for Celtic where he didn’t particularly impress yet somehow earned a move to Porto. After loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Young Boys, Janko subsequently found himself at Real Valladolid… but was then loaned out again to Bochum.
Janko is now back at Young Boys on a permanent deal. Keep up.
Brazilian midfielder Pereira made his debut off the bench in this fixture but unlike many others came out the other side and spent several more years at Old Trafford.
He could never quite establish himself in the team and, after a series of loans, has now found a welcoming home at Fulham.
CM: Anderson
The Brazilian midfielder had seen a lot of good days at United, winning four Premier Leagues, but this defeat was surely the lowest of the lows.
He was brought to the club for £25million as one of the world’s brightest young talents, and lived up to that billing for a season before sinking into mediocrity.
After leaving England, things went downhill for the Brazilian. Having always been mocked for his weight at United, he didn’t help his cause when he required an oxygen mask 36 minutes into a match in Bolivia due to the high altitude.
After playing for Turkish second-division club Adana Demirspor, Anderson retired last year at the age of 31.
Anderson's stats since joining Internacional:
23 games
0 goals
0 assists
2 red cards
1 oxygen mask pic.twitter.com/56gDrvknDs— BETDAQ (@BETDAQ) July 6, 2015
CM: Nick Powell (James Wilson, ’57)
A midfielder who was destined for great things. Sir Alex Ferguson saw more than enough potential in him, but a comparison he made in 2012 hasn’t aged particularly well.
After Powell scored on his debut, Ferguson said: “We hope Powell fills Paul Scholes’ boots. For an 18-year-old boy, it has been a terrific day.”
Since then, he’s continued to impress outside of the Premier League with Wigan Athletic, Stoke City and now Stockport County – but he’s not quite Scholes-esque.
As for Wilson, Let’s just say his first game went better than his second.
The now 23-year-old striker scored twice on his debut against Hull City, but he made his second appearance off the bench in the 57th minute at MK Dons and was on the pitch for three of the goals. Ouch.
He was released by United in 2019 and has since played for Aberdeen, Salford City and Port Vale.
LWB: Reece James
Yet another who didn’t reach game two in a United shirt.
This was the left-back’s first and last game for United before he was sent out on loan and then sold to Wigan Athletic.
He was part of the side that earned promotion to the Championship in 2018 but was released by the Latics that summer and has since played for Sunderland, Doncaster, Blackpool and now Sheffield Wednesday.
AM: Shinji Kagawa (Adnan Januzaj, ’20)
One more who was cursed by the MK Dons defeat. Kagawa’s 20-minute cameo in Buckinghamshire was his last for United before moving to Borussia Dortmund.
For a while, things were going well for the Japan international, but he massively struggled for game time later on and has since played for Zaragoza, PAOK, Sint-Truiden and Cerezo Osaka.
Early signs showed so much promise for Januzaj, but not too long after this defeat it became clear that his United career was coming to an end.
During an interview with Sky Sports, Januzaj said: “I always knew I had the quality to play for Manchester United. I know what I am capable of.” Perhaps he isn’t quite over his departure.
Following a disappointing spell with Sunderland, he revitalised himself out in Spain with Real Sociedad and is now with Europa League winners Sevilla – although he’s currently been made to train alone.
READ: Remember Shinji Kagawa? He’s back, scoring absolute blooters against PSG
ST: Danny Welbeck
Welbeck swapped Manchester for London when he joined Arsenal in 2014, but he was constantly in and out of the side at the Emirates, with constant injuries stagnating his career.
The striker left Arsenal when his contract expired at the end of the 2018-19 season and is now at Brighton, where he’s continued his habit of playing really well against United.
ST: Javier Hernandez
Chicharito featured 158 times for the Red Devils, with this game being one of his last.
He left for Germany and Bayer Leverkusen where he ripped the Bundesliga apart, averaging a goal every 1.95 games.
Hernandez returned to England with West Ham but once again he found himself on the bench more often than he’d like. After a short and unsuccessful spell at Sevilla, he refound his shooting boots at LA Galaxy, for whom he’s managed 39 goals in 82 games.
We imagine all of them are from pretty much exactly this range.
Chicharito finally breaks through and levels it in the 77th minute! pic.twitter.com/NeZnFNsUco
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 30, 2021
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