Targets from Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko and Lisandro Martinez seal a profitable UCL return for United.
Revealed On 10 Sep 2026
Manchester United returned to the Champions League in model with a 4-0 league part win in opposition to competitors debutants Sabah of Azerbaijan.
Three-time winners United had been making their first look in Europe’s most elite membership match in three seasons and stormed right into a three-goal lead on the break in Thursday’s match because of targets by Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko.
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The house facet rounded off the victory within the second half by way of Lisandro Martinez, but it surely was not utterly free of tension.
It had been a sluggish begin by United, which drew some minor groans from the Outdated Trafford devoted, however any nerves settled as soon as Cunha tapped in Patrick Dorgu’s low cross within the twenty seventh minute.
There was an alarming second later, for the house facet, when Kaheem Parris drove into the field earlier than standing up an ideal cross to Pleasure-Lance Mickels, who ought to have made no mistake along with his header, however nonetheless failed to attain.
United captain Fernandes, who was named among the many candidates for the 2026 Ballon d’Or award, netted the second after a passing transfer that confirmed the rising confidence within the house facet.
Sesko was despatched by way of for the third on the stroke of half-time, and the Slovakian ahead rounded the keeper – resisting the temptation to go down for a penalty – earlier than slotting house from a decent angle.
Cunha went near his second, and United’s fourth, on the hour mark, however his curled effort from the sting of the field was too near the keeper. Fernandes failed with an identical effort mere seconds later.
The tempo within the second interval had eased, nevertheless, and the fourth didn’t arrive till Martinez tapped in on the objective line after a scramble within the field following a nook.
There was a remaining likelihood for Sabah to take a objective away from Outdated Trafford, however Parris drilled a late, low effort throughout the objective when he ought to have at the very least examined the keeper.
It was an evening during which United supervisor Michael Carrick was in a position to rotate a few of his larger names, though solely three modifications had been made to the facet that drew 2-2 at Everton on Sunday.
With this Sunday’s Manchester derby on their minds, the Purple Devils took benefit of the scoreline to ring the second-half modifications – utilizing all 5 substitutions with greater than 20 minutes remaining.
The consequence, in one of many greatest mismatches in Champions League historical past, doesn’t paper over the cracks seen within the return of simply 4 factors from United’s first three Premier League video games.
Any present inadequacies will nonetheless be uncovered when their cross-city rivals arrive on Sunday.
