Šeško's Impact on Manchester United's Lineup Ahead of Derby

MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United eased back into the UEFA Champions League on Thursday night, but Benjamin Šeško turned a routine 4-0 win over Sabah FK into something more awkward for Michael Carrick: a genuine selection headache before the Manchester derby.

The Slovenian striker, only just back from a lost summer, has started to move with the rhythm of a first-choice No. 9. He scored at Everton on Sunday. He scored again here, against the champions of Azerbaijan, and did enough to make Old Trafford ask the same question Carrick now faces: how do you leave him out on Sunday?

Šeško forces the issue

Šeško has had to bide his time. Injured in early May, he missed the whole of preseason and watched the first three Premier League games — against Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton — from the bench. For a 23-year-old trying to establish himself, it was a stuttering start.

A goal at Hill Dickinson Stadium finally cracked the door open. Carrick handed him a start against Sabah and Šeško tore through it.

Late in the first half, he timed his run, took Bryan Mbeumo’s pass in stride, rounded the goalkeeper and rolled in his second goal in five days. Simple finish, ruthless message. United had control. Šeško had a platform.

He lasted 63 minutes before Joshua Zirkzee replaced him. That change can be read two ways: either Šeško is still being managed back to full fitness, or Carrick had already started thinking about City. The answer arrives on Sunday.

"It's not an easy decision," Carrick admitted afterwards. "Of course it's not, but it's definitely one I'd prefer to have -- goals in the team and for the boys to be playing well.

"Sometimes it's going to be a start, sometimes it's going to be finishing the game, and we need that within the group from game to game over the season."

The dilemma is real. If Šeško starts the derby, someone has to sit.

Who makes way?

The options around him are hardly making life easier for their manager.

Mbeumo, who set up Šeško here, scored a brilliant solo goal at Everton. Matheus Cunha opened his account for the season against Sabah. Marcus Rashford, rested completely on Thursday, was United’s standout performer last weekend.

Drop any of them and there’s an argument. Start Šeško and the balance of the front line changes.

That might actually work in his favour. Rashford, Cunha and Mbeumo all like to drift, to find pockets, to attack from angles. Šeško offers something more direct. He pins centre-backs, gives United a fixed point at No. 9 and a proper target when the ball is worked wide.

He also chased. Early in the second half, he hunted down a Sabah defender, muscled him off the ball and sparked a roar from Old Trafford almost as loud as the one that greeted his goal. Supporters notice those details. So do managers.

"He definitely offers a different kind of threat," Carrick said. "I think that's kind of the beauty of it. That we know what Ben gives us, and there's not many around that give you what Ben does in terms of his physique, his physicality, playing on the last line, his speed to run in behind. He's a real threat.

"It's great to have him back at this level after working to get back to fitness. So, a couple of goals and good performances, good minutes for him. We're really pleased with the way he's gone."

Šeško has done his part. Now the decision is Carrick’s.

Dream return to Europe, nagging problems at left-back

For all the focus on the striker, United’s broader night went almost exactly to plan.

Back in the Champions League for the first time since 2023, they dismantled Sabah, a club only nine years old, with the kind of authority expected at Old Trafford but not always delivered in recent European campaigns. Four goals, a clean sheet, and long spells where the visitors barely laid a glove on them.

"It was what we set out to achieve, really," Carrick said. "I think it was a good performance, individually, collectively, pretty much all the way through the game, from start to finish."

Yet even as one problem returns in the form of healthy competition up front, another persists at the back.

Luke Shaw, who started every Premier League game last season, is already being handled like a player on a tight schedule. His ability to absorb extra minutes in Europe was debated all summer. Early signs are not encouraging.

He came off with cramps in the 2-2 draw at Everton on Sunday and then missed Wednesday’s training session at Carrington. The club called it a "designated rest day." He was not in the squad against Sabah and was given Thursday off as well.

None of that would feel particularly alarming if United had a natural, trusted deputy.

Patrick Dorgu, who filled in against Sabah and set up Cunha’s opener, has mostly been used as a winger under Carrick. Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot can both cover on the left but are more comfortable on the right. Harry Amass is a specialist left-back but still only 19. A summer move for Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall never materialised.

So even in early September, Carrick is already juggling Shaw’s workload, choosing his fixtures carefully and hoping the England defender is ready for City.

Derby countdown

The scheduling has not helped. Enzo Maresca’s side go into the derby with two extra days of preparation, a detail Carrick described this week as "wasn't ideal."

At least United’s own build-up has been stripped of drama. No late scares, no draining comeback, no fresh injuries. Just a controlled Champions League win, a confident dressing room and a centre-forward who refuses to be ignored.

Šeško has his goals. He has the crowd. He has momentum.

On Sunday, he will discover if he also has his manager’s trust.