Manchester United returned to the Champions League in style with a 4-0 league phase win against competition debutants Sabah of Azerbaijan. Three-time winners United were making their first appearance in Europe’s most elite club tournament in three seasons and stormed into a three-goal lead at the break in Thursday’s match thanks to goals by Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko. The home side rounded off the victory in the second half through Lisandro Martinez, but it was not completely free of anxiety. It had been a slow start by United, which drew some minor groans from the Old Trafford faithful, but any nerves settled once Cunha tapped in Patrick Dorgu’s low cross in the 27th minute.
There was an alarming moment later, for the home side, when Kaheem Parris drove into the box before standing up a perfect cross to Joy-Lance Mickels, who should have made no mistake with his header, but nevertheless failed to score. United captain Fernandes, who was named among the candidates for the 2026 Ballon d’Or award, netted the second after a passing move that showed the growing confidence in the home side. Sesko was sent through for the third on the stroke of half-time, and the Slovakian forward rounded the keeper – resisting the temptation to go down for a penalty – before slotting home from a tight angle. Cunha went close to his second, and United’s fourth, on the hour mark, but his curled effort from the edge of the box was too close to the keeper.
Fernandes failed with a similar effort mere seconds later. The pace in the second period had eased, however, and the fourth did not arrive until Martinez tapped in on the goal line after a scramble in the box following a corner. There was a final chance for Sabah to take a goal away from Old Trafford, but Parris drilled a late, low effort across the goal when he should have at least tested the keeper. It was a night in which United manager Michael Carrick was able to rotate some of his bigger names, although only three changes were made to the side that drew 2-2 at Everton on Sunday.
With this Sunday’s Manchester derby on their minds, the Red Devils took advantage of the scoreline to ring the second-half changes – using all five substitutions with more than 20 minutes remaining. The result, in one of the biggest mismatches in Champions League history, does not paper over the cracks seen in the return of just four points from United’s first three Premier League games. Any existing inadequacies will still be exposed when their cross-city rivals arrive on Sunday.
