Manchester United marked their return to the Champions League with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Azerbaijani champions Sabah at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko and Lisandro Martinez scored as United took advantage of a favourable opening fixture to begin their European campaign with a convincing win.
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United were appearing in the Champions League for the first time in three seasons, while Sabah were making their debut in the competition after progressing through four qualifying rounds.
The result offered some encouragement to United after an unconvincing start to their Premier League campaign, in which they collected four points from their opening three matches against newly promoted Hull, Ipswich and Everton.
The difference in experience and quality between the two sides became clear after Cunha opened the scoring in the 27th minute.
Patrick Dorgu impressed in the absence of Luke Shaw and delivered the cross that Cunha converted at the near post to put United ahead.
Sabah had started confidently in front of a crowd of about 74,000 at Old Trafford but struggled to contain United once the hosts increased the tempo.
Two goals in three minutes before half-time effectively ended the contest.
Fernandes doubled United’s advantage after combining with Youri Tielemans before calmly finishing for his fourth goal in two home appearances this season.
Sesko then added a third shortly afterwards, giving United a commanding lead at the break.
United manager Michael Carrick was able to manage his squad with Sunday’s Manchester derby against City in mind. Shaw, Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford were left out, while Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo, Bryan Mbeumo and Sesko were given second-half rests.
Lisandro Martinez completed the scoring as United comfortably saw out the remainder of the match.
For Sabah manager Valdas Dambrauskas, the match was a memorable return to Old Trafford. His journey into Champions League management began with a role at Manchester United Soccer Schools, alongside several part-time jobs.
Dambrauskas had acknowledged before the match that Sabah had advanced quickly by reaching the Champions League proper without previously playing in either the Europa League or Conference League.
Sabah’s historic run to the group stage ended with a difficult night against one of Europe’s most successful clubs, while United will take confidence from the performance ahead of their domestic commitments.