Day 3: Man United U19s end their Otten Innovation Cup odyssey with big match against SL Benfica | OneFootball

1

The Otten Innovation Cup came to a close on Sunday with Manchester United taking part in the fifth-place play-off match.

A full recap of United’s first two days of action in the Netherlands can be found here: Day 1, Day 2.

On the final day of the tournament, United came up against SL Benfica in the final placement match.

Fifth-place play-off match vs SL Benfica

The match got off to a shaky start for United when Zac Watson’s pass into midfield was intercepted by Dinis Telehovschi, who did excellently to catch Watson off his line and lob into the goal from over 40 yards out.

The Portuguese side doubled their lead with some quick passing play that cut through United’s midfield and ended with a squared pass across goal to Gustavo Ferreira for an easy finish.

Less than a minute later, Jaume Camacho pulled a goal back for Darren Fletcher’s side. Initial good work on the right wing from Manu Ziro saw the ball played inside to Camron Mpofu, who poked the ball to Camacho running into the box for the Spaniard to chip over the keeper.

Benfica replied quickly, though, restoring their two-goal lead a minute later to go into the break up 1-3 after Isaac Ferreira’s strike was deflected into the goal by Jacob Watson.

The day ended up being one to forget for the young Red Devils as another mistake gave Benfica their fourth goal in the second half.

Zac Watson’s clearance attempt looped straight up into the air and, while Harley Emsden-James was able to clear the first attempt off the line, Isaac Ferreira followed up to score his second of the match.

Benfica rounded off the scoring to win 1-5 with a neatly placed finish off the post by Chrystian Djaló, the son of former Portugal international Yannick Djaló.

Manchester United starting XI: Z. Watson, Helafu, McCormack, Laurie, J. Watson, Shah, Carrick, Ziro, Camacho, Dejonge-Seiros, Mpofu

Final Standings

Finishing in sixth place, United coincidentally placed in the same spot that they did the last two times they competed in the competition in 2023 and 2024.

Darren Fletcher’s team now turn their focus back to England, where their league campaign kicks off next Saturday at home to Manchester City, a fixture which has often proven to be a title decider in recent years.

Otten Innovation Cup 2026 final standings

Full squad list