Manchester United U18s opened their Premier League Cup campaign on Tuesday afternoon with a home tie against Charlton Athletic.
After a disappointing and narrow defeat to rivals Manchester City in their league opener, Darren Fletcher’s side looked to bounce back in the cup.
New signing Karim Cassim was spotted on the bench among his new teammates but did not feature as his signing awaits ratification from the league.
First half
Junior Brown looked to give United an early lead when he went on a dazzling run, skipping past one defender before nutmegging the next, but the winger was ultimately stopped when his shot was blocked.
United took control of the match from the start and had 88% of possession midway through the first half.
Connor Laurie came close to opening his account for the U18s when his left-footed volley struck the crossbar from a corner.
Three minutes later, Jaume Camacho made no mistake with his finish, neatly tucking the ball into the bottom right corner to give United the lead after Camron Mpofu held the ball up in the box and laid it off to the Spanish midfielder.
Second half
Just five minutes after the restart, the young Red Devils doubled their lead through Yuel Helafu. Jariyah Shah initially slipped the ball into the right channel for Brown to run onto, and he laid it off to the supporting Helafu to finish first time.
Edson Dejonge-Seiros then looked to catch the keeper out with an attempt inside the near post, but the Charlton keeper was alert and parried it out for a corner.
Captain Rafe McCormack extended the lead in the 80th minute as he slid in at the back post to tap in from Emmanuel Ziro’s cross.
Charlton had a rare attack late on down the left wing but ultimately were unable to trouble Charlie Hardy in the United goal, as United ran out 3-0 winners.
United now have remaining matches against Chelsea and Wolves to round out the group stage.
Match facts
United: Hardy, Helafu, McCormack, Laurie (Emsden-James 77), J. Watson, Carrick, Shah (McEvoy 60), Brown, Camacho (Ziro 69), Dejonge-Seiros (McLaughlin 60), Mpofu (Bradbury 69)
Unused subs: Z. Watson, Ngwashi
Goals: Camacho 33, Helafu 50, McCormack 80
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
