It was a week that summed up the emotional rollercoaster of early-season football. Manchester United had a win ripped away in the dying seconds at Everton on Sunday, then four days later walked out at Old Trafford for their 300th match in Champions League history and put four past Azerbaijani champions Sabah without breaking too much of a sweat. Two very different feelings. Two very different contexts. September 6
Everton 2-2 Manchester United (Premier League, Matchday 3) United arrived at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium looking to build on the Ipswich win and get their league campaign properly on track. What they got instead was a gut punch delivered deep into stoppage time. The first half was tight and uneventful. Fernandes rattled the crossbar, while Everton's Beto spurned a decent headed chance at the other end. United looked the more dangerous side without quite finding a way through. The second half opened with a goal. Just one minute in, Bryan Mbeumo picked the ball up on the right, drove at the Everton defence, and curled a fine finish past Jordan Pickford to give United the lead. It was the kind of goal that makes Mbeumo such a difficult player to deal with — sudden, direct, and well-taken. United should have doubled their lead. Tarkowski produced a goal-saving tackle to deny Matheus Cunha when a second seemed certain, and that let-off kept Everton in it. With seven minutes remaining, they took full advantage. Tyrique George collected the ball on the edge of the box and absolutely thundered it past Senne Lammens to make it 1-1. Out of nothing. Carrick threw on Benjamin Sesko, and the substitute did what he has made a habit of doing in big moments. Luke Shaw delivered from the left, and Sesko powered home a header with two minutes left to restore United's lead. That was it. Three points. Job done. Or so it seemed. Into the sixth minute of stoppage time, deadline-day Everton signing Ainsley Maitland-Niles, making his debut off the bench, picked the ball up from distance and rifled home a finish that sent the Hill Dickinson Stadium into absolute bedlam. It was the kind of goal that makes you question what football is. A 2-2 draw, two points dropped, United left stunned. Carrick was measured but clearly disappointed post-match, noting that his side created enough problems and that Everton scored two excellent goals. He wasn't wrong on either count. The frustration was that United had won it twice and still came away with nothing. September 10
Manchester United 4-0 Sabah (UEFA Champions League, League Phase MD1) Four days later, a very different kind of night at Old Trafford. Manchester United returned to the Champions League for the first time in over 1,000 days — their 300th match in Europe's premier club competition — and marked the occasion with a comfortable 4-0 win over Azerbaijani champions Sabah, who were making their debut in the competition at the ripe old age of nine years as a club. It was not the most taxing evening United will face in the league phase. Bigger tests are coming, Atletico Madrid away is next on the European calendar, but there was something genuinely emotional about seeing United back on that stage, and they delivered a professional performance to enjoy. It started slowly, with a few early groans from the Old Trafford faithful, but the game settled once Matheus Cunha tapped home Patrick Dorgu's low cross in the 27th minute for his first ever Champions League goal. Sabah had a glorious chance to level when Joy-Lance Mickels got on the end of a dangerous Kaheem Parris cross and completely missed his header when it looked easier to score. United punished them almost immediately. Bruno Fernandes, combining neatly with a impressive Youri Tielemans, arguably the Belgian's best 45 minutes since joining United, coolly rolled home a second. Then Sesko, relentless as ever, rounded the goalkeeper and stroked in a third before halftime to put the game to bed. Carrick took the opportunity to rotate in the second half with Sunday's Manchester derby firmly in mind, giving minutes to players who needed them. There was still time for Lisandro Martinez to add a fourth, finishing from close range after a mix-up from Sabah's goalkeeper following a clever Joshua Zirkzee backheel from a Fernandes free kick. A 4-0 win, a clean sheet, and Champions League football back at Old Trafford. Whatever the result against City on Sunday, this was a night worth savouring. The Bigger Picture Three games into what is shaping up to be a hectic September, United have four points from two Premier League matches and three from one in Europe. The Everton draw still stings, and it keeps them mid-table for now in the league. But the Champions League return offered a reminder of what this squad can do on a good night, and Atletico Madrid away will tell us a lot more about where Carrick's side actually stand in Europe. Sunday's derby can't come soon enough.