Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens give Man Utd real hope of Champions League return
Michael Carrick described Benjamin Sesko’s assimilation into life at Manchester United beautifully.
“He is developing as a player,” United’s head coach said. “Sometimes there are big steps, sometimes small steps. Recently, he has taken very big steps.
“It’s great to see the confidence and belief he plays with.”
Sesko’s big strides in United’s last two games have put the club in an excellent position for a return to the Champions League after a two-year absence.
Without the Slovenian’s contributions off the bench, United would have lost at West Ham on February 10 and drawn with Everton on their first visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday.
Sesko’s goals put Carrick’s men alone in fourth place, three points behind Aston Villa and three points ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool.
While his volley at West Ham was an aesthetic beauty, his final effort in Monday’s 1-0 win was a combination of stamina to sprint 70 yards at top speed after laying off a pass to Matheus Cunha and calm himself down to apply a cool finish to Bryan Mbeumo’s square pass.
“It was a great finish, a brutal finish,” Carrick said. “I liked how he delivered it with real confidence.”
Former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher, who watched the match on Sky Sports, looked at the goal with admiration.
“Sesko went over 80 yards and then finished,” Carragher said. “You expect him to be breathing heavily and panting after this. But no, he actually has the energy to celebrate.”
Sesko increased his number of goals this season to eight.
Remarkably, he has only scored twice under Ruben Amorim, who signed him from RB Leipzig for £73.7 million in August 2025.
He now has six in his last seven games; Darren Fletcher was in temporary charge following Amorim’s sacking at the start of January, starting three of the two matches.
This return led many observers to think that Sesko was unlucky not to make the starting eleven in any of Carrick’s six matches.
United’s boss understands the debate. But he doesn’t think it’s particularly important.
“I understand why everyone is talking about it and making a big deal about it, but it’s not always this extreme,” he said.
“I have a really good relationship with Ben, we’ve had some good conversations and he’s in a good place.
“Obviously he wants to play, but we have some good forwards and I can’t speak positively enough about how he is doing.”
The important thing for Sesko is to get the job done when his manager wants him to, and he doesn’t lack the confidence to do that.
“I believe in myself and so do the other players,” Sesko told Sky Sports.
“They know what to expect when I come on. Whether it’s five minutes or 90 minutes, it doesn’t matter. It’s about showing that if I can do it, I can do it and I’m really happy with that.”
