Šeško Shines in Manchester United's 4-0 Champions League Victory
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United eased back into the UEFA Champions League with a 4-0 stroll against Sabah FK, but the most significant outcome wasn’t on the scoreboard. It was in Michael Carrick’s notebook — and the name underlined twice: Benjamin Šeško.
The Slovenian striker backed up his weekend goal at Everton with another at Old Trafford on Thursday night, turning a routine group-stage opener into a selection dilemma before the Manchester derby. He didn’t just score. He staked a claim.
Šeško forces the issue
Šeško’s season has been stuck in traffic. Injured in early May, he missed the entire preseason and watched the first three Premier League games — against Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton — from the bench. For a 23-year-old desperate to establish himself, it was a long, frustrating wait.
A goal at Hill Dickinson Stadium finally cracked the door open. Carrick rewarded him with a start against the champions of Azerbaijan, and Šeško barged through.
Late in the first half, he timed his run, took Bryan Mbeumo’s pass in stride, rounded the goalkeeper and rolled in his second goal in five days. A simple finish, but the kind of centre-forward play United have lacked at times: sharp movement, composure, ruthlessness.
He lasted 63 minutes before making way for Joshua Zirkzee. That change hinted at two possibilities — Šeško still building towards full fitness, or Carrick quietly wrapping him in cotton wool ahead of City. The answer arrives 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."
The message was clear: Šeško has moved from squad option to genuine contender. Now comes the harder question.
Who makes way for the No. 9?
If Šeško starts the derby, someone sits.
Mbeumo was outstanding at Everton, scoring a brilliant solo goal. Matheus Cunha got off the mark for the season against Sabah. Marcus Rashford, who watched this one from the bench, was United’s best player last weekend.
Carrick isn’t short of form players. He’s short of spaces.
What might tilt the argument in Šeško’s favour is the profile he brings. Rashford, Cunha and Mbeumo all like to drift, drive, pull defenders out of shape. Šeško pins them. He gives United a genuine No. 9, a fixed reference point in the box, a target when the ball is worked wide.
And he doesn’t coast.
Early in the second half, he chased down a Sabah defender, muscled him off the ball and sparked a roar from Old Trafford almost as loud as the one that greeted his goal. Supporters don’t miss that kind of work rate, especially from a striker.
"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."
For a coach who has spent weeks easing him back, this is exactly the “problem” Carrick wanted.
Dream return to Europe, real problems at left-back
United’s night, in pure Champions League terms, went almost too smoothly. Back in the competition for the first time since 2023, they dismantled a Sabah side founded only nine years ago, scoring four, conceding none and barely breaking stride.
"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."
The performance gave Carrick breathing room. It didn’t erase his other concerns.
Luke Shaw, who started every Premier League game last season, is already testing the limits of his body. He came off in the 2-2 draw with Everton on Sunday with cramps and then missed training at Carrington on Wednesday. The club described it as a "designated rest day." He wasn’t in the squad on Thursday either. Another day off. Another question.
If there were a like-for-like replacement, it would be a minor issue. There isn’t.
Patrick Dorgu, who stepped in at left-back against Sabah and set up Cunha’s opener, has largely been used as a winger under Carrick. Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot can switch sides but both are more comfortable on the right. Harry Amass is a natural left-back, but he’s 19 and still learning the game. A summer move for Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall never materialised.
Already, in early September, Carrick is having to ration Shaw’s minutes and pick his moments. With City looming, he can only hope his first-choice left-back is ready to go again.
Derby countdown
The schedule hasn’t helped. Enzo Maresca’s side have had two extra days to prepare for the first Manchester derby of the season, a gap Carrick described this week as "wasn't ideal."
What Thursday did give United was clarity and confidence. A comfortable Champions League win, goals spread around, a clean sheet, key players protected. And Šeško, standing right in the middle of it all, asking the one question Carrick has to answer before Sunday: can he really leave him out now?
