Manchester United u19s completed the opening group stage of the Mercedes-Benz Junior Cup on Saturday.
While one group of United youngsters compete at the Rewe Junior Cup, another took on Rangers, Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach at the 6-a-side Mercedes-Benz Junior Cup in Sindelfingen, Germany.
Vs. Rangers
United’s first opponents came in the shape of fellow British club, Rangers. United started slowly with Rangers taking an early lead after Jayden Ngwashi was sold a fake shot to open the space and finish past Will Murdock.
Still in the first half, James Scanlon had his shot blocked before the ball came to the Rangers forward, who brilliantly flicked it up to spin past Jacob Watson before running through to score.
An improved second half performance saw United get to grips with the speed of play and chances began to flow. Ashton Missin and Dan Armer were denied by good saves before Zach Baumann pulled back one with a low one touch finish.
Victor Musa had a pair of chances to level it up but failed to keep his efforts on target as the final whistle came with the score remaining 1-2 to Rangers.
Vs. Bayern Munich
Next up was Bayern Munich, who also took an early lead after finding too much space in front of United’s goal.
United drew it level with just a minute remaining in the second half, when James Bailey won the ball high up before poking it to Reece Munro to bundle in from close range.
United looked set to get their first point on the board but they weren’t able to hang on as Bayern found the winner with just four seconds left on the board. A redirected shot was initially saved by Murdock, but the keeper’s parry bounced off the post and back off of his head and into the goal to give Bayern the 1-2 victory.
Vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
The final match of the group saw United take on Borussia Monchengladbach with both sides sitting at the bottom of the group with 0 points.
United took the lead for the first time on the day in the first minute when Armer found Gabriele Biancheri at the back post to side foot into the roof of the net.
Biancheri was then fouled to earn a penalty but was unable to convert from the spot to extend United’s lead.
Monchengladbach turned the match on its head in the second half with two goals in the space of 30 seconds to earn a 1-2 win.
United finished the day at the bottom of the group but have a chance to redeem themselves on Sunday in the pre-finals group where they will take on VFB Stuttgart and Servette FC.
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.
