Man Utd secured a stunning victory against Man City last weekend and Michael Carrick made big selection decisions.
Carrick put his arm around Sesko.(Image: 2026 Allstar)
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After beating Manchester City, Michael Carrick was pictured with his arm around Benjamin Sesko. It was as if Carrick was saying 'don't worry, you're going to be an important part of my plans this season'.
Sesko had scored three goals in his last two matches for Manchester United, but Carrick decided to name him on the bench in favour of playing with a striker-less front three against City.
The Slovenia international would have been disappointed to lose his starting place and not even get off the bench in the Manchester derby, however, Carrick got every aspect of his team selection correct.
It was heartening to see Carrick make a beeline for Sesko during the celebrations. The 44-year-old was a player himself and knows what it feels like to be dropped. Sesko would have appreciated the gesture from Carrick, who demonstrated his man-management skills in that brief moment.
It felt like Sesko was coming to the boil just in time for the Manchester derby, and he will be desperate to continue his momentum when he receives the opportunity to feature again. His brace in the 2-2 draw against Burnley was brilliant and he followed that with a headed goal against Brighton in the FA Cup. Darren Fletcher was in charge as caretaker for both of those games, and he'd taken time to speak to Sesko individually before United's visit to Lancashire.
"I sat down with him yesterday and showed him some videos of his movement and how the opportunities are going to come, to just keep believing, keep making the runs," said Fletcher.
"The rest of the team have to look for him more as well. Like with all strikers, once you get that first goal, it builds your confidence, and hopefully they start flooding in from there. I think everyone can see his qualities.
"I thought he was fantastic tonight. I thought he led the line really well and he maybe could have gone on and had a hat-trick as well. He had a few other opportunities there, another snapshot. It's a real positive night for him and definitely probably the biggest positive from the night really is his two goals."
Sesko scored twice against Burnley.(Image: )
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When Fletcher subsequently spoke at Carrington, he played down his involvement in Sesko's brace, saying: "He's the one who crossed the white line and did it for himself.
"I said we showed some video, but Ben has been working really, really hard. He's a really diligent lad, he trains well and he reviews his games meticulously, so he's been striving for that moment. I'm just fortunate that it came in the game I was in charge of, so I'm more than happy for him."
United need an in-form Sesko to qualify for the Champions League this season, which must be the target, and Carrick will now try to coax further improvement from the 22-year-old.
Speaking ahead of the Manchester derby, Carrick admitted he enjoys the challenge of improving players. "Helping individuals is a big part of what I enjoy. I think if you improve the individuals, then you create a better team," he said, and helping Sesko wouldn't be a bad place to start.
Carrick knew what he was doing by putting an arm around Sesko and having a quiet word in his ear last weekend. The centre-forward is hoping to end his first season at the club as strongly as possible.