Michael Carrick may have watched Manchester United cruise to a convincing 4–0 Champions League victory over Sabah, but the result has not stopped questions from being raised about one of his biggest selection decisions. 👀🤯
The Red Devils returned to Europe’s elite competition in style at Old Trafford, with Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Šeško and Lisandro Martínez all finding the net. United were comfortable for long periods and eventually secured a clean sheet, giving Carrick plenty of positives ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby.
But behind the celebrations, one decision has suddenly become much harder for Carrick to ignore. 😳
Šeško has changed the conversation 🔥
Benjamin Šeško was handed his first start of the season after being used largely as a substitute following his arrival and early fitness issues. The Slovenian wasted little time reminding everyone exactly why United invested heavily in him. ⚡️🇸🇮
After scoring as a substitute against Everton, Šeško found the net again against Sabah, making it two goals in two consecutive appearances. His movement, physical presence and ability to stretch the opposition gave United another dimension in attack.
And that is where the pressure on Carrick begins. 👀
For weeks, the striker has had to wait for his opportunity, with Carrick balancing him alongside Matheus Cunha, Marcus Rashford and Bryan Mbeumo. But after what happened against Sabah, there is now a growing argument that Šeško simply cannot be left out when United face stronger opposition. 🔥
The numbers are already making the debate uncomfortable.
Šeško has now scored in consecutive matches and has reportedly scored 12 goals in his last 21 appearances for United.
The Sabah performance made the decision even harder 😮💨
United did not need to produce their best football to beat Sabah. Cunha opened the scoring after a dangerous move involving Patrick Dorgu, Bruno doubled the advantage, and Šeško struck before half-time to put the game virtually beyond doubt. Martínez later added a fourth.
But the most important part for Carrick may have been the way United looked with Šeško leading the line.
His presence gave defenders something different to deal with. He offered a physical target, attacked space aggressively and gave United a genuine focal point through the middle. 🧨
That has supporters asking a simple question:
If Šeško is producing goals and giving United another attacking dimension, how can Carrick continue to treat him as merely an impact substitute? 🤔
Even reports after the game acknowledged that Šeško’s performance has created a selection headache for Carrick ahead of the Manchester derby.
Carrick now has a BIG decision to make 👀
The timing could not be more interesting.
Manchester City are next.
That is a completely different test from Sabah, and Carrick will need to decide whether to trust the players who have been carrying the attacking responsibility or reward Šeško for his recent impact. 🔴🔥
The Sabah match also showed that Carrick was already thinking about managing his squad carefully. United made several changes from the Everton draw, while players such as Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire were rested. Youri Tielemans was also withdrawn at half-time with the derby in mind.
So the manager clearly had Sunday’s huge fixture somewhere in his calculations.
But Šeško has now complicated everything.
A striker who scores against Everton and then scores again in the Champions League is making it increasingly difficult to justify leaving him on the bench. 😮💨⚽️
And that is why one of Carrick’s selection decisions has suddenly become one of the biggest talking points around Old Trafford.
The 4–0 victory gave United three points, a clean sheet and a perfect start to their Champions League campaign. But it may also have given Carrick a selection problem he cannot afford to ignore. 👀🔴
Šeško has knocked on the door. Twice.
Now the question is whether Carrick finally opens it. 🚪🔥
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