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Manchester United u18s hosted rivals Liverpool at Carrington on Saturday morning for their first home match of the season.
Bendito Mantato started the match on fire, initially dribbling into the Liverpool area before going down under contact but the ref waved away the winger’s appeals.
Mantato then jinked between two Liverpool defenders to cut in from the right wing and looked to place the ball into the far left corner but it rolled narrowly wide of the post.
It was one way traffic for the majority of the first half but it looked like United couldn’t buy the finish. James Scanlon crossed low from the left across the face of the goal but Gabriele Biancheri couldn’t connect with the ball enough to direct it into the goal and then Mantato’s attempt at the back post was blocked out for a corner.
Liverpool’s Bailey Hall then stepped up with an incredible double save, initially denying Biancheri before stopping Mantato on the rebound which was ultimately flagged for offside anyway.
It took until the final minute of the half for United to claim the well deserved lead. Godwill Kukonki delivered low from the right left wing for Biancheri to tap in from close range for a near carbon copy of his goal for the u21s the night before against Blackburn Rovers.
A number of familiar faces were present at Carrington to take in the match including new signing Sekou Kone, Marcus Rashford, and Jason Wilcox.
Sekou Kone at Carrington taking in the u18s match alongside Marcus Rashford pic.twitter.com/JMb4QOvPQv
— The Peoples Person (@_peoplesperson_) August 31, 2024
Just after the hour mark, James Scanlon did well to turn along the touchline and thread a pass through to Tyler Fletcher making a run in behind who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner.
Mantato was still chasing his goal late on when Biancheri chipped the ball over the defender for Mantato to take on the volley but it was too close to the keeper, giving him the chance to push it out for another corner.
United saw out the final moments under little pressure from the visitors to secure the 2-0 victory and go top of the league after defeating Manchester City by the same score line last time out.
A strong performance from Adam Lawrence’s side who look favourites to retain their Premier League North title, Jayce Fitzgerald was the clear standout on the day playing in an unfamiliar centre back position while pushing forward into midfield to control the proceedings from deep.
United: Murdock, Kamason, Fitzgerald (Mills 70), Armer, Kukonki, Devaney (Thwaites 70), T. Fletcher (Bailey 75), Mantato, Baumann, Scanlon, Biancheri (Ibragimov 75)
Unused subs: Byrne-Hughes
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2024-08-31 17:00:49
