ManU outclass Sabah on Champions League return

MANCHESTER, SEPT 11: Manchester United cruised to a 4-0 win on their return to the Champions League for the first time in three seasons as Azerbaijani champions Sabah were taught a lesson on their debut among Europe's elite on Thursday.

Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko and Lisandro Martinez were on target at Old Trafford as the Red Devils took advantage of a kind draw to get their Champions League campaign up and running.

United have made an uninspiring start to the Premier League, picking up just four points from their opening three games against newly-promoted Hull and Ipswich and a trip to Everton.

Yet the difference in class between the three-time European champions and a club only formed nine years ago told once Cunha opened the floodgates on 27 minutes.

"It's nice to have a clean sheet and obviously win the game," said United boss Michael Carrick. "I thought some of our attacking play was fantastic, some of the football we played was really good."

Sabah navigated four rounds of qualifying to earn their night at the Theatre of Dreams.

For coach Valdas Dambrauskas it was a return to Old Trafford after his fairytale rise to the Champions League began with a role at Manchester United Soccer Schools, while working several part-time jobs just to make ends meet.

Dambrauskas conceded even before the match that Sabah had leapfrogged a few stages in their development by reaching the Champions League proper before they had even experienced the Europa or Conference League.

"We will all go home tonight thinking we could have done a little bit better," said Dambrauskas.

"I didn't feel that we are scared and we are afraid but also we didn't have enough courage, especially from the back line to move up."

Carrick could barely have asked for a more forgiving fixture with the Manchester derby against City to come on Sunday.    �"AFP