Absence can make the heart grow fonder and for a club hardwired on the glamour and the prestige of the Champions League, it’s been too long off the big stage for Manchester United.
Their last European fixture had been that miserable night in Bilbao in May 2025, when an awful Tottenham side beat an even worse United side, closing a backdoor route back to a competition they define themselves by. Michael Carrick rescued last season, but a campaign of just 40 games was thin gruel, and it was almost 17 months since this club had won a cup fixture of any kind.
It was also 1,003 days since United had last played in the Champions League, a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich that condemned them to the bottom of the group and an early exit from Europe. In that time, four different people have sat in the home dugout at Old Trafford and three different people have been Prime Minister.
It’s debatable which job comes with the greater pressure and scrutiny, and having looked at the manor born last season, Carrick has got off to a rockier start this season. As with life in No.10, when things start to go wrong at Old Trafford, it can unravel quickly.
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The 45-year-old didn’t look like a man under pressure on Thursday and he has the demeanour and personality to laugh off early talk of a crisis for what it is. On Wednesday had carried himself with the air of a man who retained a quiet confidence in his team and in his final words at his pre-match press conference, he touched on his desire to win the Champions League as a manager having done so as a player.
That might remain a distant dream and more challenging assignments lie ahead for United, but this was the kind of evening they needed to get the ball rolling. Carrick will have been particularly pleased at seeing some of the staples he wants to introduce into his side on show, particularly the control in midfield and the fluidity in attack.
Champions League debutants Sabah had come to Old Trafford to play and left spaces for United to exploit, but their execution was lacking in the early stages. With Patrick Dorgu playing further back and Marcus Rashford on the bench, the front four lacked a little pace and had to rely on combinations that weren’t quite clicking.
Some of that is understandable when the contrast between focal points is as stark as that between Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. While Cunha’s average position as a striker is often behind Bruno Fernandes, Sesko is normally a more physical presence who tends to try to occupy the centre-backs.
Carrick likes his forwards to roam, however, and that is how the goal came about. This time, Sesko did drop out of the area, combining with Bryan Mbeumo and Fernandes to release Dorgu down the left. His presence as an attacking full-back offered freedom to Cunha, who had drifted into the No.9 position and had a simple finish at the near post.
The visitors were keeping them honest as well. Backed by 300 travelling fans and playing the biggest match in their short history, they thought they had their moment when Joy-Lance Mickels looked certain to head home at the back post, only to find the side-netting from inside the six-yard box.
That was a shot across the bows for United and they responded with intent, scoring twice in four minutes before half-time. The classy Youri Tielemans was involved twice in the second goal, starting the move in the centre circle and then providing the pass to Fernandes to fire a first-time shot past Stas Pokatilov.
The lively Mbeumo then timed his pass to perfection, sending Sesko clear of the last line of defence and the £73million stirker went round Pokatilov before applying the finishing touch.
That killed the game off for Sabah and allowed United to take their foot off the pedal ahead of derby day, something Carrick would have been pleased about, with City handed an extra 48 hours to prepare by UEFA after their Champions League campaign began on Tuesday night.
Cunha, Fernandes and Joshua Zirkzee tested the handling of Pokatilov with shots from distance, with the goalkeeper up to it on every occasion. He was less convincing from close range and as Zirkzee’s backheel bobbled around the six-yard box, Lisandro Martinez poked it home while the goalkeeper continued to try and locate the ball.
Carrick could empty his bench with time left now. Having replaced the classy Tielemans with Mason Mount at half-time, Mainoo stepped aside from Andrey Santos after the break. Santos and Mount were the first to get a crack in midfield in pre-season, but it’s Mainoo and Tielemans who have established a partnership in the engine room.
For the second match in a row, they linked up well, and both had excellent games. Carrick’s idea of a midfield that can bring control and incision is beginning to take shape with those two and they will be the pair tasked with taking on Manchester City’s £326million midfield on Sunday.
This was a good tune-up for derby day, but the intensity is about to rise for United.