Manchester United's Šeško Shines in Champions League Win
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United eased back into the UEFA Champions League with a 4-0 stroll against Sabah FK, but Michael Carrick walked off the Old Trafford touchline with more to think about than when he arrived.
Final Score: Manchester United 4 - 0 Sabah FK
Šeško’s timely reminder
The Slovenian striker has had to sit and watch for most of the season so far. Injured in early May, he missed the entire preseason and then the first three Premier League games, reduced to a spectator while Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton came and went without him in the XI.
A goal at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday finally cracked the door open. Against the champions of Azerbaijan, he kicked it wider.
Late in the first half, Šeško timed his run, took Bryan Mbeumo’s pass in stride, rounded the goalkeeper and finished calmly. Second goal in five days. Second reminder in a week that United have a genuine No. 9 waiting to be unleashed.
He lasted 63 minutes before Carrick called him ashore for Joshua Zirkzee. That change left a question hanging over Old Trafford: was this a player still being nursed back to full sharpness, or a manager wrapping him in cotton wool for Manchester City on Sunday?
"It's not an easy decision," Carrick admitted. "Of course it's not, but it's definitely one I'd prefer to have -- goals in the team and for the boys to be playing well.
"Sometimes it's going to be a start, sometimes it's going to be finishing the game, and we need that within the group from game to game over the season."
A different kind of threat
Šeško has at least forced his way into the derby conversation. The problem for Carrick is obvious: who makes way?
Mbeumo, who teed up Šeško here, scored a stunning solo effort against Everton. Matheus Cunha opened his account for the season with the first goal against Sabah. Marcus Rashford, left unused on Thursday, was United’s standout performer last weekend.
If Šeško starts against City, one of them sits.
What may tilt it his way is what he brings that the others do not. He gives United a fixed point at No. 9, a natural target when the ball is worked wide, someone to occupy centre-backs and pin them in their own box.
He also grafts. Early in the second half he hunted down a Sabah defender, muscled him off the ball and sparked a roar from the Stretford End almost as loud as his goal celebration.
"He definitely offers a different kind of threat," Carrick said. "I think that's kind of the beauty of it. That we know what Ben gives us, and there's not many around that give you what Ben does in terms of his physique, his physicality, playing on the last line, his speed to run in behind. He's a real threat.
"It's great to have him back at this level after working to get back to fitness. So, a couple of goals and good performances, good minutes for him. We're really pleased with the way he's gone."
Dream return to Europe, tougher calls ahead
United’s return to the Champions League, their first appearance since 2023, could hardly have been smoother. Sabah, a club only nine years old, were outclassed and overrun. Four goals, a clean sheet, and barely a moment of anxiety.
"It was what we set out to achieve, really," Carrick said. "I think it was a good performance, individually, collectively, pretty much all the way through the game, from start to finish."
Yet the night also underlined the fragility of his options elsewhere.
Luke Shaw started every Premier League match last season, but the question over the summer was whether his body could handle the extra European load. Early signs are not encouraging. He left Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Everton because of cramps, then missed Wednesday’s session at Carrington, officially down as having a "designated rest day." He wasn’t in the squad against Sabah and was given Thursday off as well.
None of that would sting as much if there were a clear deputy. There isn’t.
Patrick Dorgu, who filled in at left-back and set up Cunha’s opener, has largely been used as a winger since Carrick arrived. Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot can switch to the left, but both are more comfortable on the right. Harry Amass is a natural in the position but only 19. A summer move for Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall never materialised.
Even in early September, Carrick is already juggling Shaw’s workload, picking his games with care and hoping the England defender can make it to Sunday.
Derby on the horizon
As if selection puzzles weren’t enough, the schedule has added another layer. Enzo Maresca’s City side have been handed two extra days to prepare for the first Manchester derby of the season, a quirk Carrick described this week as "wasn't ideal."
At least United head into it on the back of a comfortable European win, confidence restored and goals shared around. Šeško has his rhythm back, his fitness building, his case made.
Now Carrick has to decide: does that form earn him centre stage against City, or does the man who just gave him a headache have to wait his turn again?
