Academy Match Report: Manchester United U21s 0-2 Chelsea U21s

Manchester United Under-21s hosted Chelsea Under-21s at Leigh Sports Village on Monday night.

Michael Carrick and the first-team coaching staff were on hand to watch the top-of-the-table clash.

United got off to the worst possible start as, just seconds into the match, Chelsea played the ball back to their keeper, Max Merrick , to kick long and the ball struck the side of Chido Obi ‘s head as he looked to press.

A hard hit to the head left the Danish striker down for a few minutes, with Adam Lawrence ultimately opting to replace the number nine with Victor Musa .

United slowly got into their rhythm, forcing a number of turnovers high up the pitch. The most fruitful of these saw Finley McAllister intercept the ball in midfield before splitting the Chelsea backline to play Musa through on goal, but the striker could not beat Merrick.

Chelsea then threatened United’s goal, with Jesse Derry’s free-kick effort forcing a fingertip save from Will Murdock .

The visitors took the lead on the half-hour mark when Genesis Antwi spun past Diego Leon before racing down the right wing and cutting back to Shumaira Mheuka , whose strike slipped through the palms of Murdock and into the goal.

Things went from bad to worse for United as another head injury, this time to captain Sonny Aljofree , forced United into another early substitution.

Chelsea doubled their lead in stoppage time, with Reggie Walsh’s cross finding Leo Cardoso for an open header at the back post.

Chelsea nearly made it three straight from the restart when Antwi looked to find Mheuka in the area again, but Louis Jackson was on hand this time to clear.

It was a largely uneventful second half, with a late Bendito Mantato run inside from the right wing that saw United win a corner being the home side’s only fruitful attack.

Chelsea were fortunate to end the match with 11 men when Justin Osagie’s reckless challenge on Malachi Sharpe saw him earn only a yellow card.

At the end of the day, the London club deserved to earn the three points, which saw them leapfrog United to the top of the Premier League 2 table. United move down to third place but are only one point behind the leaders and still have one match in hand.

United: Murdock; Jackson, Aljofree (Helafu 45+1), Kukonki, Leon; McAllister, Fletcher (Thwaites 60); Sharpe, Fitzgerald, Moorhouse (Mantato 60), Obi (Musa 7)

Unused subs: Honor

Booked: McAllister

Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images

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