Rentetan Gol Penting Sesko untuk Manchester United dan Pendapat Blunder Ruben Amorim

JAKARTA - Of all the things Ruben Amorim said during his tenure as Manchester United Manager, the thing that most annoyed the club's top brass was about Benjamin Sesko.

Asked in November 2025 about the 22-year-old striker, who was brought in for £73.7m from RB Leipzig in the summer, Amorim said that Sesko's difficulty in adapting to the English League was a fact.

The club's top brass saw the comments as unhelpful to young players trying to adapt to a tough league in a new country.

Sesko scored two goals in 17 matches for Amorim. However, since the departure of the Portuguese coach in early January 2026, the Slovenian player has scored seven goals in eight matches.

Playing as a starter under Michael Carrick for the first time on Sunday, March 1, 2026, Sesko scored for the third consecutive game as Manchester United came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 2-1.

The victory also saw the Red Devils rise to third in the Premier League table, behind Arsenal and Manchester City.

"I'm happy for Ben. We worked with him and built a relationship and built trust. A lot depends on Ben."

"He has worked hard. He is a good player and has some great strengths as well as being able to score different types of goals."

"He's a real threat. I'm really excited about the potential he can achieve. He has a lot of potential," Carrick said, as reported by ESPN.

Sesko not only scored - he scored important goals. In his last three games, he scored the equalizer in the final minutes against West Ham United, the winning goal against Everton, and another winning goal against Crystal Palace.

Since Amorim was sacked, Sesko's goals in the English League against Burnley, Fulham, West Ham, Everton, and Crystal Palace have given the team eight points.

Without those goals, Manchester United would be outside the top six. Instead, Carrick's team is in third place with 10 games remaining and on track to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2023.

"He has made a big impact and he's made a significant improvement. Part of that is getting used to being here."

"He really wants to achieve, he works really hard and it's fun to work with him. It's a fantastic goal," Carrick said.

Sesko's resurgence began under Amorim's initial replacement, Darren Fletcher. After the Slovenian scored twice in a 2-2 draw against Burnley, Fletcher revealed that he used the day before the game to show Sesko a video showing his movements and goals.

The form that started at Turf Moor continued under Carrick. Fletcher said he told Sesko that he needed to continue to believe and there was a similar boost in confidence given by Carrick.

Shortly after scoring at Everton, Sesko stopped in the mixed zone to tell reporters that one of the big changes was that everyone believed in him.

No wonder, it has become common knowledge towards the end of Amorim's tenure that Manchester United wanted to sign Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, as the Portuguese coach did not trust Sesko.

However, Carrick has instilled confidence in Sesko. The former England midfielder even deserves praise for playing to his strengths.

One criticism of Amorim's style of football is that he plays with a central striker. However, he does not seem to ask his wingers to send crosses into the penalty area.

Just look at when Sesko started in Amorim's last game as coach - a 1-1 draw at home to Leeds United on January 4, 2026. He didn't take a shot on target then.

Meanwhile, under Carrick, Sesko's goals against Fulham, West Ham, and Crystal Palace all came from crosses thrown in from the wing.

With his posture, Sesko sometimes still looks clumsy when asked to take part in building an attack. However, he is great in aerial duels and sharp in and around the penalty area.

His goal against Crystal Palace was a hard header. The goal was the deciding factor after Bruno Fernandes equalised through a penalty which was started by Maxence Lacroix's red card - Crystal Palace's opening goal in the first half - for pulling Matheus Cunha.

Then Fernandes appeared on the right side and sent a cross that was taken advantage of by Sesko to sprint in front of Jaydee Canvot. He fired a hard shot past goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Sesko left the field 10 minutes later due to injury. A loud applause accompanied his change.

"We were a little less than optimal at the start and they started very well. Around the 20th minute, things started to turn in our favor."

"We finished the first half stronger, then spoke to them at half-time about being in that position as well as showing personality and confidence."

"To come back like we did in the second half and turn it around was the biggest thing. Building the momentum we had and doing it in a different way, it's very pleasing for me," said Carrick, who has now recorded six wins from seven games since taking charge of Manchester United.

Manchester United are in top form, as is Sesko. No other English League team is unbeaten since Boxing Day. No player in the league has scored more non-penalty goals in 2026 than Sesko.

Amorim's leadership period looks worse when compared to The Red Devils' record under Carrick. Meanwhile, every goal made Sesko's comments as the Portuguese coach increasingly inappropriate.

Manchester United are heading back to the Champions League and Sesko proved the critics wrong.