Standout moments for City’s Academy so far this season | OneFootball

Both City’s Elite Development Squad and Under-18s are looking to defend their respective titles this season.

But it’s also a campaign that has seen a large number of players go out on loan to gain valuable senior experience, a handful of Under-18s have progressed to the Premier League 2, and an impressive list of new faces have joined Oliver Reiss’ side.

And all are looking to progress individually, as a team and at their temporary home in the case of the loanees.

After a busy start to 2025/26 for all of our youngsters, with lots of fantastic moments to be proud of, we take a look at some of the best moments so far…

EUROPEAN RUN

After the heartbreak of a late 1-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar in last season’s UEFA Youth League quarter-final, it seems Ben Wilkinson’s side are determined to reach similar heights, if not more,  in the new campaign.

And our Under-19s are off to a flying start with two wins from two.

WATCH: City U19s 2–0 Napoli U19s: 2-minute highlights

Our league phase began with a 2-0 win over Napoli at the Joie Stadium. 16-year-old Floyd Samba broke the deadlock with his first European goal before Reigan Heskey converted from 16 yards in added time to confirm victory.

City’s youngsters carried our form on away from home. A thrilling trip to AS Monaco saw City come out on top in a 5-3 win.

Mamad Sangare bagged his first City hat-trick and also teed up Ryan McAidoo, alongside a Monaco own goal, to complete a five-star performance.

City will be looking to extend our winning run in our final four league phase games which will see us face Villarreal, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid.

WATCH: Monaco U19s 3-5 City: 2-minute highlights

KNOCKOUT PUSH

Later this month, City’s EDS will play our final EFL Trophy group game.

Our first group game saw City put on a dominant performance in our 5-1 triumph over Oldham, courtesy of goals from Sangare, Justin Oboavwoduo and Ashton Muir.

WATCH: 8-minute highlights: Oldham 1-5 City EDS

A difficult 3-0 defeat at Bolton in our second fixture allowed the team to learn a lot, which will undoubtedly be taken into our final fixture against League One outfit Rotherham United.

A positive result (win or draw and penalty shootout win) could see Ben Wilkinson’s side qualify for the knockout stage of the senior competition.

It would be the first time our Under-21s side have done so since 2020/21.

UNDEFEATED

After an incredible first season at the helm of the Under-18s, which included a 21-game winning run in the Under-18 Premier League North, Oliver Reiss’ debut campaign in City’s Academy was a memorable one.

And it seems the new season is on track for similar success.

WATCH: 8-minute highlights: City 3-2 Chelsea U18s

City’s youngsters have five wins from five, taking our unbeaten run in the North division to over 12 months.

Those results include a 5-0 opening day triumph against Leeds, a thrilling 7-3 win over Blackburn Rovers and more recently, a 4-2 derby day victory over title contenders Manchester United.

We are also undefeated in the Under-18 Premier League Cup. A comeback 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace was followed by a dramatic 3-2 triumph over Chelsea.

A win over Sheffield United in our final group game would confirm our place in the knockouts, which would be an improvement on last season’s cup exit at the group stage.

WATCH: 8-minute highlights: United 2-4 City U18s

DERBY DELIGHT

A Manchester derby is always at the top of the list for exciting fixtures. And our latest Under-18 Premier League battle didn’t disappoint.

It was a difficult start for our Under-18s, who found themselves 2-0 at half-time. But determined to make amends, Tyrone Samba’s early second-half strike sparked City’s comeback.

His younger brother, Floyd, made it 2-2 before Harrison Miles gave City the lead for the first time on 69 minutes.

United goalkeeper was dismissed shortly before full-time, after he brought down Teddie Lamb on the edge of the box. F. Samba fired home the penalty to see City move back to the top of the league table.

It’s going to make for an interesting title run for the remainder of the season!

SENIOR DEBUTS

And to top off a remarkable start to the 2025/26 season for our Under-18 and EDS, we’ve seen a handful of prospects make their City senior debuts for Pep Guardiola.

In our 2-0 win over Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup, Divine Mukasa made his full competitive debut, with Jaden and Reigan Heskey featuring as second-half substitutes.

We’ve also seen Stephen Mfuni and Ryan McAidoo named on the bench at a variety of fixtures, with both also gaining valuable time around the first-team as they continue to work to senior debuts.