Academy Match Report: Liverpool U18s 0-7 Manchester United U18s | OneFootball

Manchester United under-18s travelled to Liverpool on Saturday morning to take on their fierce rivals at the AXA Training Centre.

This was their first match following the international break after last week’s Premier League Cup fixture was postponed.

Supporters of United’s academy were given a rare chance to see Darren Fletcher’s team, as it was the first u-18s match shown on MUTV since September.

However, the broadcast did not go without its troubles with the picture lost for over 10 minutes during the first half, and the commentary cut out for even longer due to power issues.

First half

On the pitch, though, it was pure quality from the young Red Devils straight from the start of the match.

Bendito Mantato gave United an early lead in just the seventh minute, running in behind to latch onto Albert Mills’ through ball before slotting low into the Liverpool net.

Mantato looked to turn provider two minutes later when he fed Noah Ajayi in the box. Ajayi rounded one defender but could not replicate the same as he tried to dribble past the keeper.

Liverpool put up a fight and had Cameron Byrne-Hughes scrambling out of his goal just before the half-hour mark, but fortunately for the United keeper, the home side were unable to hit the target after he was beaten.

JJ Gabriel then doubled United’s lead to make it 0-2 going into the break.

Jay McEvoy started the move in midfield with a lovely feint to bypass the pressure and drive through the centre before slipping Gabriel into the box.

The chance looked like it had gone begging when Gabriel was surrounded by five defenders, but his quick feet opened an inch of space to apply the finish.

Second half

Byrne-Hughes was called into action early in the second half from a Liverpool corner, but he stood tall to push the effort over the bar.

It was one-way traffic from there as United made it 0-3 through Gabriel. The 15-year-old jinked past two defenders before smashing the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

Louie Bradbury made his first appearance of the season from the bench after a lengthy injury lay-off and marked it with a goal, poking home from close range after Jim Thwaites’ corner delivery.

Bradbury almost added a second on his return shortly after, but was denied by the woodwork following Dante Plunkett’s cutback.

Another substitute had an impact as Samuel Lusale was hacked down to win a penalty in the 83rd minute. Thwaites stepped up to take it and slipped as he shot, but the ball managed to sneak just under the keeper to make it 0-5.

Lusale then scored after a lengthy run from the halfway line, before Gabriel capped off the victory with his hat-trick.

Plunkett got to the byline and cut back to Gabriel, who took one touch and quickly finished past the keeper.

The convincing victory puts an end to a short run of bad form for the youngsters and will provide them with confidence for next week’s fixture against Newcastle.

Match facts

United: Byrne-Hughes, Kukonki, Mills, Armer, Helafu, Thwaites, McEvoy (McCormack 68), Mantato (Lusale 74), Gabriel, Brown (Plunkett 68), Ajayi (Bradbury 57)

Unused subs: Z. Watson

Goals: Mantato 7, Gabriel 43, 66, 90+3, Bradbury 71, Thwaites 84 (pen), Lusale 90