Old Trafford shines under the European spotlight

Thursday night was a happy night at Old Trafford. The Champions League anthem sounded for Manchester United fans for the first time since 2023 and the three-time European champions enjoyed a convincing 4-0 win over Sabah.

The Azerbaijani champions were little more than guests at Old Trafford as Manchester United celebrated their return to Europe’s top club competition. It was not the English side’s most dazzling performance, but it was enough to taste a European victory again in what has been their easiest match of the season so far.

The first noteworthy action of the evening was the home team’s opening goal, although it took almost half an hour before Carrick’s men broke the deadlock. The hosts pounced on a gift from Parris, who lost his bearings and surrendered a ball to allow Matheus Cunha to sweep in and score.

United grew in stature after that opening goal and Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko scored shortly before the halftime break, leaving Michael Carrick’s team with a commanding lead.

United maintained control after the restart, although chances were rather scarce. After the hour mark, Lisandro Martínez sealed the scoreline by capitalizing on another visiting mistake. Fernandes swung in a free kick that Joshua Zirkzee did well to bring down. The ball fell to Martínez and the Argentine center-back only had to push it over the line.

Late on Mickels came close to a consolation goal for the visitors but Lammens managed to paw his effort over the crossbar and close out a perfect night for his team.

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