Despite not starting a game under the new coach, Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko does not seem to mind, explaining that he is ready to contribute whenever manager Michael Carrick calls upon him.
Despite not starting a game since Carrick’s arrival, the 22-year-old striker has emerged as a decisive figure off the bench. United’s 1-0 Premier League win over Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday was the latest example of his growing influence.
“For me, it’s important whenever I come on to try and help the team. That is why I’m here. Whether that is five minutes or 90 minutes, it doesn’t really matter. It’s about showing I can deliver if I possibly can and I’m really happy with that,” Sesko told Sky Sports.
Carrick’s side have now won five and drawn one of their six games since he took charge, climbing to fourth in the table, three points behind Aston Villa. While the caretaker head coach has largely been spot-on with his selections, there was surprise when the in-form Sesko was left on the bench against Everton.
With the home side deploying tall defenders, Bryan Mbeumo struggled to make an impact early on. Carrick’s early second-half change, however, altered the course of the contest.
Sesko sealed an uninspiring clash in the 71st minute, sweeping in a clinical first-time finish from Mbeumo’s pass after a flowing counter-attack sparked by Matheus Cunha’s sublime delivery. It was a rare moment of quality in a scrappy encounter.
United had earlier come close when James Tarkowski cleared Amad Diallo’s effort off the line, while goalkeeper Senne Lammens produced vital saves to deny Harrison Armstrong and keep out Michael Keane’s long-range strike.
For Sesko, doubts could have crept in. He is only 22 and arrived at Old Trafford for a significant fee from RB Leipzig. Yet the Slovenian forward has not allowed the lack of starts to dent his confidence.
“I believe in me and so do the other players as well. They know what they are going to get when I arrive in the game. It’s up to me to deliver of course.”
His impact has been consistent. Sesko, who also scored a late equaliser against West Ham United 13 days ago, has now netted six goals in his last seven appearances after managing only two prior to that run.
“It was really important for us to win this game. It was really difficult,” he said. “We were fighting. They were fighting. It was a really 50-50 battle but we managed it until the end and secured the win.”
Victory moved United onto 48 points from 27 games, three ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification. Everton, meanwhile, remain ninth and without a win in their last seven home games in all competitions.
Carrick praised both the team’s resilience and Sesko’s development.
“We always feel as though we have a chance. The clean sheet was just as important as the goal. It was a fabulous goal,” Carrick said. “Ben is in a good place at the moment and we’ve had some really good talks about it.
“He’s going to be a big player for us for a long period of time I’m sure of that.”
Everton manager David Moyes admitted his frustration after the defeat.
“I’m not happy with the scoreline, that’s for sure,” Moyes said. “You have to win games if you are going to keep moving on and we haven’t been doing that, especially here.
“They got the one goal on the counter-attack and we put in a great effort to try and get the goal back but just lacked the quality to make it count.”
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