It was a night for romance given the astonishing story that Sabah brought with them to Old Trafford for their Champions League debut. This is a club that did not even exist a decade ago and nobody saw their bolt to the title in Azerbaijan coming last season; in 2024-25, they had finished 41 points off the top. The job that their manager, Valdas Dambrauskas, has done since taking over in the summer of last year is extraordinary.
It was also a night for cold, hard reality. Manchester United were back in Europe’s elite competition after a two-year hiatus and in need of something to soothe them after the trauma of their last-gasp coughing up of two points in last Sunday’s Premier League draw at Everton. And before the extremely serious business of the derby here against Manchester City on Sunday.
They got it on the back of a first-half performance that burned slowly before catching fire. It was Matheus Cunha who broke the deadlock midway through the first half and the defining moments came at the end of the period when Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko sent United into half-time with a three-goal cushion. Lisandro Martínez added the fourth late on.
It was a case of job done for Michael Carrick, no wobbles. United had wanted to put their best foot forward when they heard the Champions League aria after the chaos and embarrassment of their previous involvement in the competition. Erik ten Hag was the manager in 2023-24 and his team finished bottom of their group with four points, starting and ending with losses to Bayern Munich.
It was what happened in between times against Galatasaray and Copenhagen that still causes a few shudders. It was a period when United panicked uncontrollably when they had a lead. When the defensive gifts from them came in crazy clusters.
Carrick took no chances with his starting XI. There was minimal rotation in the midfield and front line, save for a first start of the season for Sesko in the No 9 position. It was easy to think that the manager wanted to groove Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo in central midfield before the City game.
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