Azerbaijan's champions, Sabah, experienced a 4-0 defeat against Manchester United in their Champions League group stage opener at Old Trafford. The match, which marked the biggest game in Sabah's nine-year history, saw Manchester United pull away after a crucial missed opportunity from Sabah's centre-forward, Joy-Lance Mickels.
Mickels had a clear chance to level the score in the 39th minute after Matheus Cunha's opener for United, but his header went wide. This moment proved decisive, as United then scored two quick goals before half-time through Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko, making it 3-0.
Lisandro Martínez completed the scoring for Manchester United after the interval. Despite the result, Sabah's manager Valdas Dambrauskas reflected, "We all will all go home thinking that we could’ve done a little bit better – especially the result."
Sabah's journey to the Champions League group stage began on 7 July, involving four two-legged qualifying rounds and victories over The New Saints, Kuopio, Aarhus, and Hapoel Be’er Sheva. The club, founded in Masazir in September 2017, became champions of Azerbaijan for the first time last season under Dambrauskas.