Man Utd can go far in Champions League — Carrick

Manchester United is strong enough to compete with Europe's best, according to Michael Carrick. He earned his position as permanent United boss after leading the team to third place in the Premier League in his interim spell last season. United is returning to the Champions League for the first time in three years.

Paul Merson, a former England star, has expressed doubts about Arsenal's chances of winning the Champions League this season. According to Merson, Arsenal did not add a player with the "X factor" to their squad this summer, which might prevent them from reaching the top.

In other Champions League news, Real Madrid won their opener 2-1 against Inter Milan, with José Mourinho deploying Trent Alexander-Arnold as a midfielder due to a lack of midfield options. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Sabah, led by Rwanda forward Joy-Lance Mickels, has reached the Champions League proper on their competition debut.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, Daily Post Nigeria, Punch Nigeria, Yahoo Sports, BBC Sport Football — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.