Champions League: Man United, Bayern, Como Secure Big Wins In Thursday’s Action

Manchester United made a triumphant return to the UEFA Champions League on Thursday, cruising to a 4-0 victory over Azerbaijani champions Sabah at Old Trafford.

According to Ireporter Online, the victory marked United’s return to Europe’s elite club competition after a three-season absence and provided a much-needed boost following an inconsistent start to their Premier League campaign.

Matheus Cunha opened the scoring in the 27th minute after steering Patrick Dorgu’s cross into the near corner. Bruno Fernandes then doubled the advantage shortly before half-time following a combination with Youri Tielemans.

Benjamin Sesko added a third goal after rounding Sabah goalkeeper Stas Pokatilov, before Lisandro Martinez completed the rout in the second half after capitalising on a costly mistake from the goalkeeper.

Manager Michael Carrick used the comfortable victory to manage his squad ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby against Manchester City. Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford were left out of the starting line-up, while Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo, Bryan Mbeumo and Sesko were withdrawn in the second half.

Sabah had progressed through four qualifying rounds to reach the Champions League league phase but struggled to contain United after the hosts increased the tempo. Their coach, Valdas Dambrauskas, had acknowledged before the match that the club had made rapid progress by reaching the competition without previous experience in either the Europa League or Conference League.

Bayern Munich also began their Champions League campaign in emphatic fashion, defeating Bodø/Glimt 5-0 at home.

Jamal Musiala marked his return to the starting line-up with the opening goal, before Harry Kane and Alphonso Davies added to Bayern’s advantage. Michael Olise then scored twice to complete the comprehensive victory for the six-time European champions.

The result extended Bayern’s remarkable record to 24 consecutive victories in their opening Champions League matches, a run stretching back to 2002.

Elsewhere, Fenerbahçe and Roma played out a 1-1 draw, while PSV were held to the same scoreline by Shakhtar Donetsk. Lens defeated Slavia Prague 3-2, while Como secured an impressive 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig.

The Champions League results were:

Fenerbahçe 1-1 Roma
PSV 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Bayern Munich 5-0 Bodø/Glimt
Slavia Prague 2-3 Lens
Como 4-1 RB Leipzig
Manchester United 4-0 Sabah