‘You wonder why…’: Lineker reacts to ‘odd’ Carrick decisions this season that could be costing Man Utd

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Utd Report

·15 September 2026

‘You wonder why…’: Lineker reacts to ‘odd’ Carrick decisions this season that could be costing Man Utd

Gary Lineker has questioned why Benjamin Sesko is not being granted Premier League starts for Manchester United so far this season.

Sunday’s Manchester derby marked the fourth successive game that the Slovenian has started on the bench.

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How Benjamin Sesko is faring since 2026/2027 got underway

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Not only is Sesko not making the line-up, but his cameos are yet to reach the half-hour mark since the beginning of the term.

Sesko’s game time in the Premier League thus far (Transfermarkt)

When he came off the bench and scored a crucial header in United’s clash with Everton just over a week ago before instantly adding to his account in the Champions League win over Sabah, fans anticipated that the forward would have earned a start for Sunday’s contest.

Benajmin Sesko puts Manchester United back in front! 👊
– Sunday, 6 September 2026

However, Sesko was only introduced to the action in the 67th minute, with United already trailing by a goal to 10-man Manchester City at the time he was brought on to make an impact.

Given the Reds spent the majority of the encounter offering little to no attacking threat, you can understand the confusion over why Michael Carrick waited so long to utilise the only out-and-out centre-forward in the squad.

What Lineker had to say about Sesko

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Reacting to the afternoon’s affairs on The Rest Is Football: “Up top, they look like they (United) are lacking.

“I mean, they’ve got Sesko on the bench. It’s odd that – I mean he comes on, and he has scored in games – but you wonder why he’s not getting a starting place.

“They’ve got [Matheus] Cunha… he’s more of a No.10, isn’t he? Rather than a nine. And [Bryan] Mbeumo plays mostly off the right and, obviously, [Marcus] Rashford was on the left.

“You kept looking at it, and you think, ‘Are you going to get someone up top? Are you going to bring the big man on?’

“And then he (Sesko) did come on, but a bit late.”

Alan Shearer echoed Lineker’s points, adding that he believed Sesko deserved more time and should’ve been substituted into the action ‘at least 10 minutes earlier’ than he was.