Unlike many of his players, Michael Carrick has personal experience of the special nights at Old Trafford in the Champions League. This was scarcely one of them, but if Carrick had compiled a list of things he wanted from the evening, this must have ticked nearly every box. A perfect night? "Yeah, I think so," he said.
The fixture list made it a low-key comeback to the Champions League but Carrick was able to rest four players ahead of the Manchester derby, take off five more and chalk up a comfortable win. "Some of the football we played was really good," said Carrick. "We just did a lot of good things." Some players benefited. Matheus Cunha, who was fortunate to avoid a late red card for a studs-up challenge on Erivaldo Almeida, surely needed his first goal of the season. Benjamin Sesko marked his first start of the campaign with a second goal in a week.
Bruno Fernandes was instrumental as United put four past Sabah (Reuters)
In a sense, though, the most meaningful goal came from Bruno Fernandes. The captain was nominated for the Ballon d'Or even after a campaign when United were not in any continental competition. He showed a loyalty to United during their European exile. More than any other player, he dragged them back into the Champions League. It was fitting he scored on their return. Fernandes being Fernandes, it was also typical he was not among the rested or the removed.
Carrick has rarely needed to rotate since he took charge. Given this season's greater workload, this was something of a learning exercise. Patrick Dorgu played left-back for the first time under Carrick, excelled in attack and played a part in the first two goals, but revealed defensive deficiencies. Noussair Mazraoui, brought back in for Diogo Dalot, seemed to have a point to prove and looked lively going forward. A fit-again Mason Mount made a belated first appearance of the campaign in the second half. Andrey Santos, dropped after his ill-fated debut at Hull, got the final half-hour. The youngsters Harry Amass and Shea Lacey appeared for the last 20 minutes.
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The fixture list made it a low-key comeback to the Champions League but Carrick was able to rest four players ahead of the Manchester derby, take off five more and chalk up a comfortable win. "Some of the football we played was really good," said Carrick. "We just did a lot of good things." Some players benefited. Matheus Cunha, who was fortunate to avoid a late red card for a studs-up challenge on Erivaldo Almeida, surely needed his first goal of the season. Benjamin Sesko marked his first start of the campaign with a second goal in a week.
Bruno Fernandes was instrumental as United put four past Sabah (Reuters)
In a sense, though, the most meaningful goal came from Bruno Fernandes. The captain was nominated for the Ballon d'Or even after a campaign when United were not in any continental competition. He showed a loyalty to United during their European exile. More than any other player, he dragged them back into the Champions League. It was fitting he scored on their return. Fernandes being Fernandes, it was also typical he was not among the rested or the removed.
Carrick has rarely needed to rotate since he took charge. Given this season's greater workload, this was something of a learning exercise. Patrick Dorgu played left-back for the first time under Carrick, excelled in attack and played a part in the first two goals, but revealed defensive deficiencies. Noussair Mazraoui, brought back in for Diogo Dalot, seemed to have a point to prove and looked lively going forward. A fit-again Mason Mount made a belated first appearance of the campaign in the second half. Andrey Santos, dropped after his ill-fated debut at Hull, got the final half-hour. The youngsters Harry Amass and Shea Lacey appeared for the last 20 minutes.
#league #played
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