Ranking 5 greatest upsets in Carabao Cup history

The Carabao Cup has always had the potential to produce a surprise. Unlike a league season, where consistency usually separates the strongest teams from the rest, a knockout tie can be decided by one mistake, an outstanding performance or a penalty shootout that goes on and on.

Not every shock deserves a place among the competition’s greatest upsets. The difference in quality between the teams matters, along with how far they have progressed in the tournament and what the result meant afterwards.

These five ties stand out for those reasons, and their impact went beyond the scoreline.

5. MK Dons 4–0 Manchester United

Manchester United’s 4–0 defeat to MK Dons in August 2014 was remarkable for both the scoreline and the result itself. United were beginning life under Louis van Gaal, while MK Dons were in League One, two divisions below their opponents.

Will Grigg scored twice, and Benik Afobe added two more as the hosts ran out comfortable winners. United struggled to create clear chances and did not register a shot on target until the 72nd minute.

MK Dons had been founded only a decade earlier, making the result even more striking. This was not a narrow defeat settled by a late goal or a penalty shootout. The League One side scored four times without conceding, securing a famous win over one of English football’s biggest clubs.

4. Grimsby Town 2–2 Man United (12-11 pens)

Grimsby Town’s victory over Manchester United in August 2025 was one of the most dramatic cup nights in recent memory. The League Two side took advantage of a poor United performance, building a two-goal lead before the visitors fought back late on.

Charles Vernam opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, and Tyrell Warren made it 2–0 eight minutes later. Bryan Mbeumo pulled one back in the 75th minute, while Harry Maguire equalised in the 89th to send the tie to penalties.

The shootout became a test of nerve as both teams kept scoring. Grimsby eventually won 12–11 after 26 kicks, with Mbeumo hitting the crossbar on his second attempt.

Goalkeeper Christy Pym also played a key role, saving a penalty and scoring one himself. Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, he said: “It’s not sunk in yet.” For Grimsby, it was a rare chance to knock one of the country’s biggest clubs out of the competition, and they took it.

3. QPR 3–2 West Bromwich Albion

Queens Park Rangers produced one of the League Cup’s biggest shocks in the 1967 final. West Bromwich Albion, the holders, led 2–0 at half-time through two goals from Clive Clark. QPR were a Third Division side and looked to have a tough afternoon ahead.

The second half changed everything. Roger Morgan pulled one back, Rodney Marsh equalised, and Mark Lazarus scored the winner in the 81st minute to complete a 3–2 comeback.

The match was the first League Cup final played at Wembley, with 97,952 spectators in attendance. QPR became the first third-tier club to win the trophy, making the result significant beyond the comeback itself.

2. Bradford City 1–1 Arsenal (3-2 pens)

Bradford City’s quarter-final victory over Arsenal in December 2012 remains one of the Carabao Cup’s most memorable upsets. The League Two side faced an Arsenal team with far greater resources but held its own for over 120 minutes before winning on penalties.

Garry Thompson gave Bradford the lead with a volley in the first half. Arsenal looked to have rescued the tie when Thomas Vermaelen headed home an equaliser in the 88th minute, but the Gunners could not find a winner in extra time.

Bradford then won the shootout 3–2, with Vermaelen missing the decisive penalty.

The victory was only the beginning. Bradford went on to reach the 2013 final, becoming the first fourth-tier club to reach the League Cup final since Rochdale in 1962. Swansea City eventually won 5–0 at Wembley, but Bradford’s run had already secured its place in the competition’s history.

1. Swindon Town 3–1 Arsenal

Arsenal were favourites when they met Swindon Town in the League Cup final at Wembley on 15 March 1969. Swindon were in the Third Division, two tiers below their opponents, but they produced a performance that secured the biggest trophy in the club’s history.

Roger Smart put Swindon ahead in the 35th minute. Arsenal needed an 86th-minute equaliser from Bobby Gould to force extra time, but Don Rogers scored twice, in the 104th and 119th minutes, to seal the win.

Swindon won 3–1, turning an apparent mismatch into one of the competition’s most memorable upsets. Their achievement was even more unusual because their lower-league status prevented them from entering the following season’s European competition, despite winning the trophy.

Why Swindon, Bradford and QPR Rank Above Modern Shocks

The first three entries have something the other two do not: their stories extended beyond the night of the upset. Swindon, beating Arsenal in a Wembley final remains the greatest achievement in the club’s history.

QPR’s victory was just as significant, coming in the first League Cup final at Wembley and completing a comeback from two goals down against the holders.

Bradford’s place rests on a different achievement. They did not win the trophy, but their victory over Arsenal set them on a run that took a League Two side all the way to the final. The quarter-final win marked the beginning of a cup campaign that captured national attention.

The ranking takes those lasting achievements into account, alongside the gap between the divisions and the quality of the opposition.

How Grimsby and MK Dons Redefined Modern Giant-Killings

Grimsby and MK Dons make the list for different reasons, even though both eliminated Manchester United in the second round. MK Dons won through a commanding performance. Grimsby’s victory was far less straightforward.

They built a two-goal lead, watched United fight back, and then survived one of the longest penalty shootouts in the competition’s history.

Neither club went on to win the trophy in those campaigns, so their achievements do not carry the same legacy as Swindon’s or QPR’s triumphs. But both results showed how quickly a knockout tie can turn against a much bigger club.

United had the resources and reputation on those nights, but neither was enough.

That is what makes the Carabao Cup different. A smaller club does not need to match an elite opponent over a full season. It needs one performance that holds together for 90 minutes, extra time or, as Grimsby proved, a penalty shootout that seems to have no end.