Key events
76 min Two more changes for Sabah, Du Queiroz and Almeida for Simic and Zedaka.
75 min Naturally, the corner comes to nothing. I’m not sure why, when sesko was on, United weren’t looking for him, either for near-post flick-ons or to go for goal.
74 min Zirkzee is a kind of diet Berbatov, and he shows lovely feet to wriggle between two challenges before chopping outside, narrowing his own shooting angle, and when the left-footed effort comes, it’s blocked behind for a corner.
73 min On the topic of Mbeumo, why doesn’t he have a song to this?
The Stretford End in falsetto seems an easily achievable feat.
72 min And United go Amass and Lacey for Dorgu and Mbeumo.
71 min Sabah take off Rakhmonaliev, replacing him him with Kahibulaev.
GOAL! Manchester United 4-0 Sabah (Martinez 69)
Fernandes flips over the wall and Zirkzee, right of centre and facing the touchline, backheels. The ball then ricochets off McCarthy, Dashdamirov and Pokatilov, before Martinez slams into the net from close range. the keeper and defenders won’t mind never, ever seeing that again.
67 min Mount into Santos into Zirkzee, around the corner for mount, who’s fouled by Lepinjica; he’s booked. Free-kick United, 30 yards out.
66 min “Bodo’s final third is toothless right where the game is decided – the final 16 metres,” advises AnhTuan Nguyen Huynh. They now trail Bayern 2-0, Musiala and Kane with the goals. Except Kane’s may be chalked off for this infraction against all laws of decency.
65 min Santos and Mount combined really nicely in pre-season, for what that’s worth, two intelligent players looking to pass the ball forward.
64 min Double change for United, Santos and Zirkzee on for Mainoo and Sesko.
63 min Sabah send on Isaev for Parris, then Puchacz takes the free-kick, 30 yards out, curling left-footed over the wall … just over and just wide.
61 min Dorgu runs across the back of Parris, clipping his heels; he’s booked.
61 min Now it’s Bruno shooting from just outside the box, right-hand side; the keeper does well to cling on.
6o min United are back dominating possession, probing as they seek a fourth goal … and they almost get one, working it patiently and well before Bruno, back to goal, allows the ball to slide down the outside of his foot for Cunha, whose low shot is saves by a sprawling Pokatilov.
58 min Mount swishes a cunning pass through the lines for Mbeumo, who finds Mazraoui and takes a man away with a run outside him. So the full-back cuts inside, tries a curler for the far top corner … and gets naewhere near it
55 min United are sitting off Sabah now, conserving energy. I’m a little surprised Mainoo wasn’t withdrawn, as he’s essential to all they’re trying to do, but I doubt he completes the 90.
53 min Bruno leaps for the ball and Parris nudges him in a move known in some circles as “the Harry Kane”. One day, someone will get seriously hurt as a result of that kind of challenge, the reaction one of understandable agita.
52 min Sabah still aren’t waiting to be asked, Simic crossing and Martinez doing well to head clear. But they win a throw, hurled in by Lepinjica; United get it away.
51 min Bruno prompts on the edge after good work from Cunha, but Sesko wants too much time and intricacy, allowing Dashdamirov to intercede.
49 min Simic punches forward to Mickels, Yoro ploughing through him and not getting much, if anything, of the ball, but the ref thinks it’s fine, so doesn’t award the free-kick despite Sabah’s beseeching.
47 min United have played Dorgu so high and wide, he’s been an extra attacker, more or less, allowing Cunha to play inside. I’m not sure that’d work against better opposition, but it’s a decent option when chasing a goal.
46 min We go again.
Change for United: Tielemans is rested for the weekend, with the luckless Mount making his 38th comeback.
Change for Sabah: Mbina for Nwachukwu.
I’m returning to the same issues: United haven’t yet worked out how to control a game while playing at pace, sustaining attacks and boxing opponents while being hard to get at – something their 98-99 and 06-08 iteration did brilliantly. But structurally, they’re improving, and once Baleba is fit, they should get better at recovering high and defending channels.
Scores from elsewhere:
Our early games finished Fenerbahce 1-1 Roma and PSV 1-1 Shakhtar; our other 8pms are Bayern 0-0 Bodo/Glimt, Slavia Praha 0-0 Lens and Como 2-0 Leipzig.
United will play Roma, Bayern, Como and Leipzig.
HALF-TIME: Manchester United 3-0 Sabah
It took United a while to get going, and Sabah have done a good job, but the gap in class is as chasmic as expected.
GOAL! Manchester United 3-0 Sabah (Sesko 45)
Mainoo into Bruno and over to Mbeumo, who plays into the space for Sesko, lanking between the centre-backs. He opts to go around the keeper – a finish we see too rarely these days and doesn’t go down when touched though, if he does, it’s a red card. But he stays on his feet, slides into the empty net, and this, as a contest, is did.
44 min United are starting to impose their class now, and excuse me while I interrupt myself.
GOAL! Manchester United 2-0 Sabah (Fernandes 43)
Tielemans slips out to Dorgu who goes wider to Cunha, who punches a diagonal ball into the box, where Tielemans collects, spins away from goal toward the touchline and lays back to Bruno, who passes into the net. That is very nice.
42 min …and again, the corner is to the back post and poorly executed, Cunha and Martinez jumping into each other’s way.
41 min Mainoo is dictating a lot of United’s play and he passes forwards to Bruno, who disguises a ball out wide, but Dorgu’s shot is blocked behind…
40 min Nice from Mbeumo, who shapes to cross then fizzes a square-pass to Bruno, 20 yards out … but his shot is well over the bar. So far, he’s not having one of his better days – nor did he at the weekend.
38 min United look pretty well-organised tonight – their shape is good and having Sesko makes that better – but their execution hasn’t been good enough.
36 min And here Sabah come again, Parris feinting to go outside Dorgu, deliberately leaving the ball behind, then going back to it and picking out Mickels at the back stick! this is a chance, but he can only bungle it wide – though, in fairness, there wasn’t much space between Lammens and the post.
33 min Tielemans drills a luscious ball out to Bruno, who kills it and goes backwards, United again prioritising keeping the ball. And then, when it again goes to Tielemans, he finds Dorgu, whose cross is behind Sesko but, back to goal, the striker hooks it goalwards … and just wide of the near post. There are more goals in United, but they should be concerned at their inability to pen Sabah in.
32 min Sabah haven’t shrunk since going behind and again, Parris cuts in, his shot blocked behind by Dorgu. The corner is well claimed by Lammens.
31 min Mazraoui has seen a lot fo the ball and he digs out a cross, of which Parris makes a mess, but Dorgu’s consequent volley is blocked.
30 min Parris again shows himself down the right, crosses low, and for a second dit looks like Mickels will have a tap-in, but Tielemans is there to make an important challenge.
29 min I wouldn’t say the goal was coming, but United had improved a bit in the five minutes preceding it, a bit more tempo and imagination in their passing.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Sabah (Cunha 28)
Parris gives it away, passing infield to Mbeumo, and the ball moves to Sesko then Bruno, who feeds Dorgu. The low cross to the near post is good enough and Mbeumo, played onside by McCarthy, leaps to punch a close-range finish into the ground and in, off the keeper’s shoulder. That’s his first Champions League goal.
27 min “I just noticed that Sabah have a centre back called Aden (Aidan) McCarthym” writes John Brennan. “Taking over from Thomas Delaney as the most Irish sounding non-Irishman around.”
Yup, I looked him up too – he’s Saffer.
25 min A ball into Mbeumo, who explodes on to it and inside, beating McCarthy and creating a shooting lane but, stumbling as he lets fly, it’s straight at Pokatilov.
24 min Again, the corner comes to nothing. Without Casemiro, so far this season, they’re offering no threat form set-pieces.
23 min What United have lacked so far is players beating their men. When Tielemans did it earlier, it opened things up, but they need more of it from their attackers. Meantime, though, Mainoo sweeps a lovely lofted pass forward – the kind of thing he has to do more often – picking out Bruno, unmarked on the right of the box. He’s got Sesko in the middle, but his square-ball is careless and Sabah get it behind.
21 min Mazraoui is doing a fair bit of work underlapping, and here he is again, but when the ball goes into the box, there’s too much on it for Dorgu to control his header back across.
19 min The corner is comfortably collected by Pokatilov.