Michael Carrick praises Man United for perfect night on Champions League return

MANCHESTER -- Michael Carrick hailed a perfect night as Manchester United beat Sabah FK on their return to the Champions League.

United beat the champions of Azerbaijan 4-0 at Old Trafford on Thursday in their first fixture in the competition since December 2023.

Asked afterwards whether four goals and a clean sheet represented a perfect night, Carrick said: "I think so. It's what we set out to achieve.

"I think it was a good performance, individually, collectively, pretty much all the way through the game, from start to finish. Boys that started, boys that came on the pitch, clean sheet, and some goals, and some good, exciting football. It was a good night all round, yeah."

Victory for United was the perfect preparation ahead of Sunday's derby against Manchester City.

Carrick's team have taken four points from their opening three games and are looking to bounce back against their neighbours after conceding a late equaliser against Everton.

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"Results-wise, it hasn't been the start we wanted," Carrick said.

"You know, we wanted to have more points in the league. But performance-wise, there's a lot of things in there that we kind of were looking for and we've been pleased with. There's certainly things to improve, you know. I think a clean sheet tonight was important for us.

"Collectively as a team, we've done a lot of good things, and that's why we're kind of excited about what the season brings. It's really encouraging for me."