Manchester United u19s finished the weekend in the 7th place at the Mercedes-Benz Junior Cup.
After sitting in last place in the group after day 1, United moved onto the pre-finals where they met VFB Stuttgart and Servette FC.
Vs. VFB Stuttgart
The German side showed their class from the off, forcing a number of saves from Will Murdock before finally taking the lead just before half time.
The difference in experience of playing indoor 6-a-side football was evident as United looked to slowly build up the play with possession which proved ineffective compared to Stuttgart’s quick transitions that exposed the open space after turnovers.
Gabriele Biancheri showed some nice hold up play to spin his marker but such was the lack of space, there was another defender on hand to block his effort at goal.
Stuttgart added another two goals to win 0-3, including a spectacular solo effort from Yanik Spalt.
Vs. Servette FC
Servette opened the scoring after cleverly bouncing the ball off the boards and into the box to be tapped in.
Zach Baumann took inspiration from the move when he banked the ball off the board to Dan Armer at the edge of the box whose shot was redirected in by Biancheri.
James Bailey then struck low to give United the lead before Baumann set up Biancheri for his second of the match.
James Scanlon then scored his first of the weekend to seal a 4-2 win for United, their first win at the tournament.
Vs. Sao Paulo
United’s final match came against Brazilian side Sao Paulo in the 7/8th place placement match.
The Brazilian side took a two goal lead in the first half but Baumann, United’s best player throughout the tournament, came alive in the second half with a goal within five seconds of the restart.
The midfielder then rounded a Sao Paulo player on the left side to run through and draw it level at 2-2 just 30 seconds later.
The scored remained 2-2 to bring it into penalties where Armer, Scanlon, and Munro scored to win it 3-2 and earn United the 7th place finish.
The strong VFB Stuttgart went on to win the cup, defeating Bayern Munich 5-4 in the finals.
United’s top goal scorers for the tournament were Baumann and Biancheri with three goals each.
United squad: 1 Will Murdock, 2 Jayden Ngwashi, 3 Daniel Armer, 4 Reece Munro, 5 Zach Baumann, 6 James Bailey, 7 Ashton Missin (C), 8 Victor Musa, 9 Gabriele Biancheri, 10 James Scanlon, 11 Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher, 12 Jacob Watson
Featured image Lewis Storey via Getty Images
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Colm Murphy
A football obsessed Canadian who moved to England to enjoy the beautiful game. Colm has been keen follower of Manchester United’s famed academy since seeing a fresh faced Adnan Januzaj for the club’s u18s and has been writing about football with a focus on youth development for over 10 years.
