Manchester United u21s took on FC Nordsjælland in the Premier League International Cup on Tuesday night.
With United already knocked out of the competition with no way to advance, the match was one to gain experience from against a strong Danish side who had already defeated Liverpool and Norwich.
After late confirmation of the venue, it was a small crowd of 334 on the night but fans were able to tune into the away side’s live stream of the match as United decided not to provide coverage on MUTV.
The visitors took early control on the pitch with Levy Nene forcing some early interventions from Tom Myles in the United goal.
Araphat Mohammed eventually gave Nordsjælland the lead just before the half hour mark. Habeeb Ogunneye’s wayward back pass set Nene through on goal to dink over Myles. It was initially stopped on the line by Godwill Kukonki but Araphat followed in to open the scoring.
Nene then got his name on the scoresheet just a minute later. Another mistake at the back from United saw Myles, under the pressure of Nordsjælland’s high press, pass the ball straight to Nene to quickly finish low into the goal.
The 18 year old Malian forward, who was a stand out on the night, is the younger brother of Dorgeles Nene of RB Salzburg who has recently been linked with a move to United. And after this performance, Levy will certainly have had his name highlighted alongside his brother’s by the United scouts.
United enjoyed a short spell late in the first half. Chido Obi saw his first involvement on the ball, which allowed the youngster to drive 30 yards before smacking it off the crossbar from the edge of the box.
Obi then had another two attempts before the break, the first of which forced a good save from the opposition keeper before volleying over the bar from Ashton Missin’s cross that came to him at an awkward height.
As a result, Nordsjælland held their 0-2 lead going into the break.
Early in the second half, Levy Nene doubled his tally from a corner. The ball was delivered into the box for him to head in off the hands of Myles, who could only swat it into the goal.
After losing the midfield battle for much of the opening hour of the match, a triple substitution in midfield for United saw the introduction of Jayce Fitzgerald, Finley McAllister, and Amir Ibragimov. The trio immediately brought an improvement to United’s play.
Fitzgerald in particular was instrumental in United gaining a foothold in the match in the latter stages but it was McAllister’s defence splitting through ball that set Obi free to pull one back for United with a side footed finish.
Despite the improvement, it was too little too late for United. The final whistle came with the score 1-3 to give Nordsjælland the three points which puts them top of the group.
Travis Binnion’s u21s now turn their attentions back to Premier League 2 where they will travel to Brighton on Saturday looking to continue their three-match winning streak in the league.
United: Myles, Ogunneye, Jackson (c), Kukonki (Kingdon 45), Amass, Kone (McAllister 62), Moorhouse (Ibragimov 62), Missin (Sharpe 70), Curley (Fitzgerald 62), Mather, Obi
Unused subs: Murdock, Kamason
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.
