Manchester United made some changes for the second round of Premier League 2. After losing to Arsenal and winning the EFL Trophy against Barnsley, Stoke City were next in line to face them. The Old Trafford academy players won comfortably 4-1. Malachi Sharpe was the hero, scoring two goals and providing one assist.
At the start, it must be noted that Manchester United were the better team, which they proved many times during the match by dominating and maintaining possession of the ball. The “Young Red Devils” did not allow their opponents to do much and played carefully, so as not to make it easier for the opponent to start a counterattack. It was this method of attack that Stoke City chose and waited for Manchester United to make a mistake.
On this day, the “Red Devils” had a problem with the effectiveness of corner kicks. Most often, the ball missed the potential scorer or landed on the ground in the penalty area. Although sometimes the players from the red side of Manchester managed to recover the ball after a poor set piece, they still were unable to convert it into a goal.
Manchester United had four goal-scoring opportunities in the first half, and managed to score twice. Jack Fletcher, the hero of the previous EFL Trophy clash, opened the scoring in the 10th minute, converting a cross from Malchie Sharpe.
A dozen or so minutes later, Stoke City players took advantage of one of their few chances in the match. Adekoya scored. The visiting players had another chance to score after a mistake by Kingdon. The defender made an inaccurate pass to his teammate. As a result, the opponents launched a counterattack and reached Manchester United’s goal. The situation was saved by Kingdon himself, who stepped in and blocked the attacker who was about to shoot.
The Red Devils found the net again in the first half, six minutes before the end. The goal was scored by the aforementioned Malachi Sharpe. The Manchester United winger converted McAllister’s pass into a goal. Ethan Wheatley had two chances in this part of the match. Once, the Manchester United striker hit the goalpost. In the second situation, he hit the net after a cross, but the referees signaled offside.
In the second half, only the Red Devils scored goals. In the 64th minute, Sharpe scored the second goal. The assist for his goal was given to defender Ogunneye, who had appeared on the pitch a few minutes earlier. The result of the match was sealed by Mather, who scored a goal exactly three minutes later.
Manchester United recorded their first league win of the season by beating Stoke. The post-match statistics of the Red Devils’ academy players were also pleasing. Manchester United had 6 shots on target from 12 attempts. In comparison, their opponents had only one shot on target throughout the match. Ball possession was also good, with the Red Devils finally reaching 65%.
Manchester United U21 4 – 1 Stoke City U21
Fletcher 10′, Sharpe 39′ i 64′, Mather 67′ – Adekoya 23′
Manchester United: Harrison – Nolan, Aljofree, Kingdon, Amass – McAllister, Rowe – Sharpe, Fletcher, Mather – Wheatley
Rezerwowi: Myles, Curly (61′ McAllister), Ogunneye (61′ Kingdon), Ennis (69′ Sharpe), Ibragimov
