09/10/26 05:53:00
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09/10 17:51 CDT Man United goes on a scoring spree in its long-awaited return
to the Champions League
Man United goes on a scoring spree in its long-awaited return to the Champions
League
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
MANCHESTER, England (AP) --- It's nearly three years since Manchester United
last played in the Champions League. That wait came to an end on Thursday as
European club soccer's top competition returned to Old Trafford and United
produced the type of performance that fans used to be able to take for granted.
Sure, there will be greater tests for Michael Carrick's team in Europe this
season --- namely Atletico Madrid next month and German giant Bayern Munich in
January. But the home crowd relished a 4-0 win, even against such limited
opposition as Azerbaijan's Champions League debutant Sabah.
"It was perfect for everyone --- especially for our fans. It means a lot to
them when they see so many goals," goalscorer Benjamin Sesko told broadcaster
TNT Sports.
Long gone are the days when three-time champion United was feared throughout
Europe and a consistent challenger for the title. It has not lifted the trophy
since 2008. Since club icon Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 it has regularly
failed to even qualify for the Champions League and was eliminated from the
group phase in two of its last three campaigns.
Carrick will hope he can buck that trend in his first season coaching at this
level and this was an encouraging start.
"It's nice to have a clean sheet and obviously win the game," said the United
coach. "I thought some of our attacking players were fantastic, some of the
football we played was really good, dangerous on transition, and we defended
for the most part really well.
"The result looks comfortable. It wasn't always like that, but I thought we
just did a lot of good things tonight, which gave us a good result."
United is back in the Champions League after a resurgence under then-stand-in
Carrick last season. A third-place finish in the Premier League earned him the
job on a permanent basis.
But United's form has been unconvincing so far this term, with just four points
from three games.
"We're always pushing for more. Results wise it hasn't been the start we
wanted," Carrick said. "We wanted to have more points in the league, but
performance wise, there's a lot of things in there that we were looking for,
that we've been pleased with and there's certain things to improve."
Goal spree
This was United's most complete performance of the season so far, which could
be good timing ahead of Sunday's clash with Manchester City.
Matheus Cunha scored United's first Champions League goal since 2023, when it
was eliminated in the group stage under former manager Erik ten Hag.
Brazil international Cunha fired home from close range in the 27th minute as
United went on a first-half scoring spree.
Bruno Fernandes and Sesko gave United a 3-0 lead at the break and Lisandro
Martinez added a fourth in the second half.
"Collectively as a team, we've done a lot of good things and that's why we're
excited about what the season brings," Carrick said.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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See AP's full soccer coverage here
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