Man United vs. Sabah live score, stats, highlights from Champions League clash

Man United vs. Sabah live score, stats, highlights from Champions League clash originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

JUMP TO:

Manchester United begin their return to Champions League action by hosting Azerbaijani newcomers Sabah FK at Old Trafford on Thursday in their league phase opener.

The Red Devils have not played in Europe’s top competition since they were bounced in the group stage of the 2023/24 tournament, with four defeats in six games to the likes of Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen, and Galatasaray. They were on the outside of all three UEFA tournaments last season, but returned to the Champions League field by finishing third in the Premier League.

They meet Sabah, a club which has only been in existence since 2017, and is competing in its first-ever league phase of any European competition. They are famously coached by Valdas Dambrauskas, who has gone viral for his rise to coaching prominence by working his way up after winning money on a Lithuanian game show.

The Sporting News is following the Man United vs. Sabah match live, providing score updates, commentary, and analysis.

MORE:Where are Sabah from? | How Sabah coach Dambrauskas went from game show to Champions League

Man United vs. Sabah live score

Location: Old Trafford (Manchester, England)
Referee: Willy Delajod (FRA)

Starting lineups:

Man United (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. S. Lammens (GK) — 3. N. Mazraoui, 15. L. Yoro, 6. L. Martinez, 13. P. Dorgu — 37. K. Mainoo, 18. Y. Tielemans — 19. B. Mbeumo, 8. B. Fernandes, 10. M. Cunha — 30. B. Sesko.

Sabah (4-2-3-1, right to left): 92. S. Pokatilov (GK) — 80. A. Zedadka, 27. T. Puchacz, 5. R. Dasdemirov, 4. A. McCarthy — 7. U. Rakhmonaliev, 13. I. Lepinjica — 21. V. Simic, 8. C. Nwachukwu, 11. K. Parris — 20. J. Mickels.

Man United vs. Sabah highlights, key incidents

This section will be updated as the match progresses, with key match events taking place and highlights becoming available.

27th min: GOAL! MAN UNITED!!!

3:30 p.m. — MATHEUS CUNHA SCORES TO PUT MANCHESTER UNITED IN FRONT!

Patrick Dorgu flicks a cross from the left to the front of goal, and it meets the Brazilian who charges vertically onto the ball, expertly cutting in front of his defender to poke home the finish.

Kickoff

3 p.m. — The match is under way at Old Trafford! Will Manchester United assert their dominance over the Champions League newcomers, or will Sabah gives the dominant teams something to think about as the league phase progresses?

Lineups

1:45 p.m. — Lineups for both teams have been submitted!

For Manchester United, Diogo Dalot gets a rest as Noussair Mazraoui starts at right-back while Patrick Dorgu moves back to full-back, which is an attacking move. Benjamin Sesko gets his first start of the season up top, with Matheus Cunha slotted in on the wing.

Marcus Rashford is on the bench, while Luke Shaw does not make the matchday squad.

For Sabah, it’s a surprise that 20-year-old Nigerian midfielder Christian Nwachukwu, who signed this summer from Sheffield United, takes over at the No. 10, replacing veteran Aleksey Isayev.

Man United vs. Sabah live match stats

Man United vs. Sabah upcoming schedules

Man United upcoming fixtures

DateCompetitionMatchLocationSun, Sep. 13Premier LeagueMan United vs. Man CityOld Trafford (Manchester, England)Wed, Sep. 16EFL CupMan United vs. BrightonOld Trafford (Manchester, England)Sun, Sep. 20Premier LeagueFulham vs. Man UnitedCraven Cottage (London, England)

Sabah upcoming fixtures

DateCompetitionMatchLocationMon, Sep. 14Azerbaijan Premier LeagueShafa vs. SabahASK Arena (Baku, Azerbaijan)Sat, Sep. 19Azerbaijan Premier LeagueSabah vs. Imisli FKBank Respublika Arena (Masazir, Azerbaijan)Fri, Oct. 9Azerbaijan Premier LeagueFK Neftchi vs. SabahNeftci Arena (Baku, Azerbaijan)

Man United vs. Sabahkick off time

The match kicks off at Old Trafford in Manchester, England at 8 p.m. local time.

Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:

DateKickoff timeUSA/CanadaThu, Sep. 103 p.m. ETUKThu, Sep. 108 p.m. BSTAustraliaFri, Sep. 117 a.m. AEDT*IndiaFri, Sep. 1112:30 a.m. IST