Manchester United return to Champions League with 4-0 win over Sabah as Carrick seeks steady footing
Manchester United return to Champions League with 4-0 win over Sabah as Carrick seeks steady footing
Manchester United marked their first UEFA Champions League appearance in 1,003 days with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Azerbaijani side Sabah FC at Old Trafford on Thursday, a result that eased early-season pressure on head coach Michael Carrick ahead of an upcoming Manchester derby.
Thursday’s match was United’s first in the competition since a 1-0 group-stage defeat to Bayern Munich that ended in a bottom-place finish and an early European exit. In the intervening period, four different managers have taken charge at Old Trafford. United’s last European outing before this week was a May 2025 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao that closed off a route back to the Champions League, and the club had gone nearly 17 months without winning a cup fixture of any kind before last season’s recovery under Carrick.
Carrick, 45, has faced a bumpier start to this campaign after a strong first full season, but presented a composed front in the buildup. Speaking ahead of the match, he said he aimed to win the Champions League as a manager, having already done so as a player, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Against Champions League newcomers Sabah, Carrick saw elements of his preferred approach on display, including control in midfield and fluidity in attack — principles the club will hope carry into the derby and beyond as the league phase continues.
Off the pitch, shares of Manchester United plc (NYSE: MANU) closed at $20.02, down 1.96% from the previous close of $20.42, giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $3.45 billion. The publicly traded club, which operates in the entertainment industry, derives significant revenue from sponsorship and commercial partnerships tied to its global brand — making sustained participation in elite European competition a meaningful commercial variable.
What to watch
- United’s upcoming Premier League fixture against Manchester City, and whether the midfield control shown against Sabah carries over.
- Subsequent Champions League league-phase results as the club seeks its first European campaign since 2023.
- MANU’s quarterly earnings and any commentary on how Champions League participation affects broadcast and commercial revenue.
Source: original release