Manchester United marked their return to the Champions League after a three-season absence with a commanding 4-0 victory over competition debutants Sabah of Azerbaijan at Old Trafford on Thursday. The three-time winners stormed into a three-goal lead by half-time, effectively killing off the contest before the interval.
Matheus Cunha opened the scoring in the 27th minute, tapping in Patrick Dorgu’s low cross. The home side had started slowly, drawing minor groans from the Old Trafford faithful, but the goal settled any nerves. There was a brief alarm when Sabah’s Kaheem Parris delivered a perfect cross to Joy-Lance Mickels, who should have scored with his header but failed to hit the target.
United captain Bruno Fernandes, among the candidates for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, netted the second after a flowing passing move that showcased the growing confidence of the home side. Benjamin Sesko made it three on the stroke of half-time, rounding the goalkeeper – resisting the temptation to go down for a penalty – before slotting home from a tight angle.
The pace eased in the second period. 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 attempt moments later. The fourth goal eventually arrived when Lisandro Martinez tapped in on the goal line after a scramble from a corner.
Sabah had a late chance to grab a consolation, but Parris drilled a low effort across the face of goal when he should have at least tested the goalkeeper. United manager Michael Carrick was able to rotate his squad, though only three changes were made from the side that drew 2-2 at Everton on Sunday. With the Manchester derby looming on Sunday, the Red Devils used the comfortable scoreline to make all five substitutions with more than 20 minutes remaining.
The result, one of the biggest mismatches in Champions League history, does not paper over the cracks seen in United’s return of just four points from their first three Premier League games. Any existing inadequacies will still be exposed when their cross-city rivals arrive on Sunday.
Source: www.aljazeera.com