Manchester United ended a nearly three-year Champions League absence with a comfortable 4-0 win over FK Sabah at Old Trafford, as Benjamin Sesko and Patrick Dorgu stepped into the spotlight under interim head coach Michael Carrick.
Manchester United marked their return to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in 1,003 days with a comprehensive victory on Thursday night. The last time Old Trafford hosted a Champions League fixture was in December 2023, when Bayern Munich secured a 1-0 win that consigned United to a bottom-place group finish under Erik ten Hag. This time, facing Azerbaijani visitors Sabah, the outcome was entirely different, providing the home crowd with four goals and a much-needed confidence boost ahead of a weekend derby.
Patrick Dorgu’s Left-Back Audition and Defensive Growing Pains
The Dane had not played a single minute at left-back in nine previous appearances under Carrick, more frequently operating further up the wing in an attacking position. Those behind the scenes at United feel it can become something much more permanent.
From an attacking standpoint, Patrick Dorgu delivered the game’s opening breakthrough by sending in a low cross from the left that Matheus Cunha turned past goalkeeper Stas Pokatilov in the 27th minute, after a misplaced pass in midfield led to a break up the pitch by the hosts. Later in the half, Dorgu’s overlapping run created the hesitation in Sabah’s backline that allowed Youri Tielemans to receive and spin in the box, cut it back to Bruno Fernandes and up went the roar around Old Trafford when it nestled into the bottom corner.
There was one sequence midway through the first half that perhaps best encapsulated the good and the bad of Patrick Dorgu the left back. With the game locked at 0-0, Sabah broke on the counter and there was Dorgu, as far forward as any United player, appearing totally uninterested in sprinting back. It did not go unnoticed.
By the time the players filtered off the pitch, Dorgu had the UEFA Player of the Match trophy in his hands, having also been awarded the PlayStation Player of the Match award. For all the good here, for a start he had more touches in the box (8) and created more chances (3) than any other player on the pitch at half-time, though this man-of-the-match display still showed the Dane has plenty to do bring Shaw’s level of calmness at the back.
Benjamin Sesko Capitalises on His First Start of the Season
Benjamin Sesko made the most of his first start of the season—his first start since May 3—and picked up where he left off in his goal-scoring cameo off the bench against Everton at the weekend. He scored United’s third goal just before half-time, timing his run onto Bryan Mbeumo’s pass perfectly, rounding goalkeeper Stas Pokatilov, keeping his feet, and sliding a finish into the empty net.
His trademark leap into the air to celebrate was met with a raucous noise from the crowd, inevitably pleased that the form the 23-year-old Slovenian showed at the end of his 2025-26 debut year had not been interrupted by the injury that kept him out during pre-season. He was out for much longer than expected after being withdrawn at half-time of the visit by Liverpool four months ago, having been pushed into the advertising hoardings by Ibrahima Konate. A shin injury he had been nursing was exacerbated by that collision, and United allowed him to fully recuperate while training hard at Carrington, rather than feature in any of their six summer friendlies. He was straight into the action as a late substitute on the opening weekend at Hull but had to wait until the fourth game of the season tonight for his first start. Sesko now has two goals in 117 minutes of football this campaign, or one every 58.5 minutes, after scoring seven in 595 minutes under interim head coach Michael Carrick last season — a rate of one every 85.
Lisandro Martinez Seals the Win Ahead of the Manchester Derby
Bruno Fernandes had already doubled their lead in the 42nd minute before Sesko’s strike rounded off a dominant first half. Midway through the second half, Lisandro Martinez added a fourth goal by capitalising on a terrible defensive mix-up to strike from a yard out, capping a comfortable evening for the hosts at Old Trafford in their first Champions League game for nearly three years.
