Manchester United have a special group of youngsters in the under-18s, who keep on winning and winning.
Even though the recent FA Youth Cup match did not go as planned, Manchester United’s under-18s side are unbeatable in league competition.
Last night the under-18s made it 14 wins from 14 this season, continuing a remarkable 100 per cent record – going 17 points clear at the top of the table.
It was not a completely straightforward match-up against Liverpool last night at Carrington, with Manchester United trailing 2-1 at half-time before going on to win 4-3.
How Manchester United made it 14 in a row
There is serious depth in talent in Manchester United’s academy, with the team making seven changes to the side which beat Leeds 4-0 at the weekend.
The star of that performance was 16-year-old winger Bendito Mantato, who did not even make the bench for last night’s game.
Liverpool made the stronger start, going 1-0 up, before Ethan Wheatley scored an equaliser after some clever footwork inside the box.
Wheatley has a habit of scoring the difficult chances and missing the easier ones, shooting a one-on-one straight at the goalkeeper after being put through by Finley McAllister.
Liverpool then scored on the counter-attack to take a 2-1 lead and put Manchester United’s 100 per cent record under threat.
In the second half Manchester United’s dominance paid off, with Ethan Williams setting up Jayce Fitzgerald for an equaliser.
Williams made it 3-2 with a well taken goal of his own, before setting up James Scanlon to score a fourth and make it 4-2.
Liverpool scored a stoppage time goal to make it 4-3, but there was no time to push for an equaliser with Manchester United’s perfect record staying intact.
There was one unsavoury moment midway through the second half when a Liverpool defender appeared to punch Ethan Wheatley, with the incident going unpunished.
Ethan Williams tremendous season
The star of the show was Ethan Williams, who scored one goal and provided two assists in the 4-3 win.
It all added to a remarkable 2023/24 campaign for the 18-year-old, who has flitted between the under-18s and under-21s.
He has featured in the EFL Trophy and UEFA Youth League, picking up experience and scoring goals and assists.
In total he has 16 goal contributions, made up of 10 goals and 6 assists. There is lots of football left to be played too.