MICHAEL CARRICK was punching the air before half-time, a winning start to his first full Champions League campaign already assured.
The perfect night for United, with early goals for Matheus Cunha, skipper Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko, the Euro rookies from Azerbaijan sent packing with the minimum of fuss, completed by Lisandro Martinez’ comic fourth.
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After three years as outsiders while others dined at the High Table, this was an enjoyable light evening meal.
But while the Old Trafford fans enjoyed their return to the Euro elite, nobody was fooled.
The game that actually matters this week is still to come.
Beat City in the derby on Sunday, and all will seem well, the manager bolstered, faith growing.
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Lose, and the clouds of doubt will return, black and foreboding.
Tonight there were no beads of worried sweat on Carrick’s brow.
What was supposed to be a mismatch against the minnows from the shores of the Caspian Sea, turned into exactly that as United completed a clean sweep of Prem wins in the opening week of the competition.
It may have taken nearly half an hour for United to make their physical domination count.
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Thursday 10 September
FC Bayern
5 – 0
League Stage
Bodø/Glimt
Man Utd
4 – 0
League Stage
Sabah
Como
4 – 1
League Stage
Leipzig
Slavia
2 – 3
League Stage
Lens
Tuesday 13 October
Lens
17:45
League Stage
Sporting
Sabah
17:45
League Stage
Slavia
Thursday 10 September
Slavia
2 – 3
League Stage
Lens
Como
4 – 1
League Stage
Leipzig
Man Utd
4 – 0
League Stage
Sabah
FC Bayern
5 – 0
League Stage
Bodø/Glimt
Fenerbahçe
1 – 1
League Stage
Roma
PSV
1 – 1
League Stage
Shakhtar D
UEFA Champions League
Pld
Pts
GD
W
D
L
Form
1
1
3
5
1
0
0
2
1
3
5
1
0
0
3
1
3
4
1
0
0
4
1
3
4
1
0
0
5
1
3
3
1
0
0
6
1
3
2
1
0
0
7
1
3
2
1
0
0
8
1
3
2
1
0
0
Even then, Kobbie Mainoo was able to glide through the game, positionally sound and passing with intelligence, while Youri Tielemans looked a class act alongside him.
And once Cunha, snubbed by Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti as one of the casualties of the World Cup flop, scored his first of the season, converting Patrick Dorgu’s cross, the only question was the margin of victory.
Sabah boss Valdas Dambrauskas funded the start of his coaching career with his £725 winnings on the Lithuanian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”
He must have felt like phoning a friend for help as the quickfire double from Bruno and Sesko just before the interval took the game out of sight.
No surprise really. With the exception of Mainoo – their best performer – every one of Carrick’s starting team had cost more than the entire Sabah side.
United were bigger, stronger, fitter and simply better.
While fleet-footed Jamaican Kaheem Parris did make things uncomfortable for Dorgu, whose limitations again highlighted the folly of not buying a proper back-up for the rested Luke Shaw, it was never going to matter.
Early sighters for Cunha and Nousair Mazraoui had signposted Sabah’s frailties on the flanks, after Carrick resisted the urge to make wholesale changes ahead of Sunday’s derby showdown.
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United, though, were guilty of over-elaboration, briefly raising the hopes of the handful of travelling fans in the Sabah ranks.
That was summed up when Mainoo’s delightful scoop forward found the galloping Bruno, who failed to find the unmarked Sesko, making his first start of the season with Marcus Rashford benched.
But the breakthrough came on 27 minutes, after the Azerbaijan side coughed up the ball in midfield.
The passing was swift and sharp, Bryan Mbeumo, Sesko and then Bruno combining to feed Dorgu, with Cunha escaping his alleged marker to side-foot home from six yards.
Shelling peas would have been harder, as the muted response of the home fans acknowledged. It didn’t.
And although Rwandan striker Joy-Lance Mickels should have scored with a back post header from Parris’ deflected cross, it was over by half-time.
Tielemans was involved twice in the first, instigating the move and then spinning from Cunha’s pass to allow Bruno to slide home.
Then when Mbeumo, in off the right, saw the space in behind, Sesko was able to run through unchallenged, round the keeper and pass into the net for his second in as many matches.
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It was a calm finish for the Slovenian, who had earlier gone close with a back to goal volley after Tielemans’ angled pass had picked out Dorgu in space again.
The slight surprise was that Carrick waited until beyond the hour mark to make more than the one change, which has seen Mason Mount on for Tielemans at the interval.
Cunha, spinning to fire from the edge of the box, and soon afterwards Bruno, both tested Sabah keeper Stas Pokalitov.
There was a ripple of applause when Mainoo was given a deserved breather, Andrey Santos on, while Joshua Zirkzee – who was almost an Everton player last week – came on for Sesko.
Zirkzee was involved in the fourth, his back heel after Bruno’s lob-wedge free-kick eventually teeing up Martinez for a tap-in, mainly due to the Sabah keeper completely losing his bearing as the ball dribbled between his legs.
Rashford was being held back for the big one at the weekend as Carrick instead sent on youngsters Harry Amass and Shea Lacey.
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That will, for sure, be a far tougher test of the manager and his players.
For now, though, the mood is positive. We will see soon for how much longer.
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