Manchester United u18s hosted Watford behind closed doors at Carrington for their final pre-season match on Friday.
United came away with a resounding 6-1 victory as they continued their preparations for the season.
Darren Fletcher has seen his side firing on all cylinders throughout pre-season, having already defeated Norwich by a 6-0 scoreline.
Match of wonder goals
The young Red Devils haven’t just been scoring at at an incredible rate, but have been doing it in style as well.
JJ Gabriel’s wondrous goal stole the headlines, but the match could fill up a goal of the season competition itself, with Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher and James Bailey challenging Gabriel for the honours.
Gabriel’s dad, former Ireland international Joe O’Cearuill, shared his son’s goal on X. The 14 year old rouletted between two defenders before evading another with a La Croqueta and finishing past the keeper.
— JG (@joeoc8710) August 1, 2025
Bailey went a different route with his finish. After taking a short free kick, he smashed a dipping and swerving ball into the top left corner from over 20 yards out.
James Bailey with an absolute banger for the u18s vs Watford pic.twitter.com/wC6nn96Ppd
— RedYouthUnited (@RedYouthUnited) August 1, 2025
Often likened to the number 10s of yesteryear, Ibrovic-Fletcher reeled back the years with a near carbon copy of Samir Nasri’s famous goal vs Fulham in the 2010/11 season for Arsenal.
He dodged one tackle before evading another and finishing past the keeper with his weaker left foot.
Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher goal vs Watford u18s
Reminiscent of Samir Nasri vs Fulham. #MUFC #MUAcademy pic.twitter.com/7bHG7d8iWp
— RedYouthUnited (@RedYouthUnited) August 1, 2025
Ibrovic-Fletcher added another goal with a header at the back post from an Amir Ibragimov cross.
The 17-year-old Ibragimov also added his name to the scoresheet with an impressive volley in its own right which was overshadowed by the sheer quality on display on the day.
The match also saw some first u18s involvements for Silva Mexes Tyler-Earnshaw and Louis Kibbalya from the u16s.
Season begins
The u18s season begins on 16th August with a trip to Everton to start the league campaign.
Before then though, many of the squad will head to Croatia with an u19s group for the Mladen Ramljak Memorial Tournament.
United have been drawn in a group with Juventus, SK Rapid Wien and hosts Dinamo Zagreb.
The groups sets up a rematch of last year’s tournament finals, which saw United lose out to Dinamo Zagreb.
Featured image Ben Roberts photo 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.
