Overview
- Manchester United beat Sabah 4-0 at Old Trafford on Thursday, September 10, 2026, with Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko and Lisandro Martínez on the scoresheet.
- Carrick used rotation ahead of the Manchester derby by leaving Luke Shaw out and keeping Marcus Rashford on the bench, a plan that was vindicated by a comfortable victory that allowed several regulars to be spared heavy minutes.
- Sabah, a club founded in 2017 that reached the Champions League league phase by winning four qualifying rounds, made their tournament debut but were exposed by the gulf in class once United found rhythm.
- The game was decided by a first-half surge — Cunha’s opener followed by quick goals from Fernandes and Sesko — and a chaotic second-half sequence in which a Joshua Zirkzee backheel left Sabah’s goalkeeper stranded for Martínez to finish.
- The result gives United early points and a healthy goal difference under the Champions League’s expanded league format and shifts attention to tougher fixtures, notably a trip to Atlético Madrid and Sunday’s Manchester derby.