(CNN) -- It was a penalty shootout that summed up Manchester United's season -- errant, careless and ultimately forlorn. This was the team that have dominated English football for years, one of the biggest on the planet. Yet here they were, slugging it out from the penalty spot with lowly Sunderland in the semifinal of the English League Cup, with a place at Wembley at stake. Usually so composed in pressure situations, United's players blinked, four of them missing from 12 yards out as this interminable season took another turn for the worse. Since Sunderland last won silverware in 1973, Manchester United have won 25 domestic trophies, but before the end of January the only competition they are still in with a realistic chance of winning is the European Champions League.
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Manchester United knocked out of English League Cup by lowly Sunderland
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Sunderland win on penalties after a dramatic finale to the semifinal tie at Old Trafford
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Four Manchester United players miss in the shootout as Sunderland win 2-1
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Result heaps pressure on beleaguered Manchester United manager David Moyes
Of the four missed penalties from his side @placeholder simply added: "That was poor.