Picture: Array of first team stars present at United’s heartbreaking FA Youth Cup final defeat

Manchester United’s youngsters narrowly missed out on silverware once again this season. Narrow defeat Darren Fletcher’s under-18s have played some incredible football this season, and there are numerous young stars, such as JJ Gabriel and Jim Thwaites, to be excited about. The Under-18s finished second in the league and also lost the Premier League Cup final on penalties to Crystal Palace. They reached the final of the prestigious FA Youth Cup but once again came up short at the final hurdle, losing 1-2 to a late goal against great rivals Manchester City. United fell behind in the second half when the Blues scored a stunning free kick. They equalised moments later, though, when Godwill Kukonki headed in a Jim Thwaites set piece. The young Red Devils could not find their own winner and conceded a late goal to Reigan Heskey. Stars in attendance There has been much controversy over City’s decision to play the game at the 7,000-capacity Joie Stadium instead of allowing United to host it at Old Trafford. Nonetheless, there were still numerous stars packed into the small stadium. The Sun reports that, “Kai Rooney wore a dapper suit as he joined Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes in the crowd at the Youth Cup final.” Luke Shaw and Mason Mount were also in attendance alongside the club captain, showing support for their academy. The paper also adds that, “United head coach Michael Carrick was sitting in the row in front with chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox on Thursday night.” Carrick has been praised for paying significant attention to the academy and is reportedly on the verge of being appointed permanent manager at the club. Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Latest Top Stories… Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.