Manchester United marked their long awaited return to Champions League football with a statement performance, thrashing Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK 4-0 at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

It was the club’s first appearance in Europe’s premier competition in three seasons, and Michael Carrick’s side made sure the occasion did not pass quietly.

The Red Devils settled into their rhythm inside the opening half hour. Matheus Cunha broke the deadlock in the 27th minute, turning home Patrick Dorgu’s cross to give United the lead they never looked like relinquishing. Sabah briefly threatened a response through Joy Lance Mickels, but United pulled away before the interval as Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko struck in quick succession to make it 3-0 by halftime. Sesko’s goal continued his fine recent form after netting off the bench against Everton at the weekend, and he looked sharp on his first start of the campaign.

With the contest effectively settled, Carrick used the second period to rotate his options ahead of a bigger test to come. Lisandro Martinez still found time to add gloss to the scoreline, smashing in from close range to complete the rout and send Old Trafford home satisfied. It marked United’s 300th appearance in the Champions League, an English record, in what is their 26th campaign in the competition overall.

Sabah, who qualified through the playoff rounds and arrived unbeaten in four of their last five matches, never truly found a foothold against a United side eager to prove a point after a mixed start to their Premier League season.

The visitors’ European adventure continues, but this was a harsh introduction to the competition’s top table.

Attention now turns quickly to Sunday, when Carrick’s side face a far sterner examination in the Manchester derby against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, a match that will offer a truer measure of how far this United team has come since their Champions League exile began.

Photo Credit: Getty Images