It may have been derby-lite at Old Trafford on Saturday but the next day at Leigh Sports Village, the under-23s delivered an authentic taste of Manchester rivalry. It was an afternoon of muddied shorts and bruised limbs as youth teams for United and City shared four goals, numerous fouls, and one red card.
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There were little fires everywhere, and the heat spread to the dugout when Nicky Butt and City head coach Enzo Maresca argued loudly over refereeing decisions as players on each side lay of the turf needing treatment.
It was the type of game that, once healed, players will learn from and a result that leaves United sixth in Premier League 2 table, three points behind leaders City.
The Athletic has taken a look at the key talking points from a full-blooded affair.
Shola Shoretire playing above his age
Hopes are high for a player United tied down to a pre-professional contract earlier this year. It was an unusual step by the club and commits Shoretire to United for three years once he turns 17 on February 2. Even with those expectations, his displays at under-23 level have been impressive. He is the youngest player in Neil Wood’s squad but regularly performs, and the City game was no different.
Operating on the right wing, he was involved in Facundo Pellistri’s goal, applying the quick flick to Arnau Puigmal that gave United impetus, did his defensive work competently, and looked unruffled by the physicality of the contest. Indeed, at one stage, he left Luke Mbete, City’s imposing central defender, on the floor after a coming together. He seems to have skill and steel.
“What impresses me the most is he is a very technical player,” Wood told The Athletic. “Shola has always played up a year through his whole academy career. I can’t remember him ever playing his own age group. He has always been stretched.
“He is very mature for his age, the way he plays. He does a lot of work, takes a lot of positions up, and he has played a lot of roles. He’s played nine, he’s played left, he’s played on the right, he’s played 10 and whatever you ask him to do — on and off the ball — he is going to do it. You can trust him to do that job.
“I am not expecting him to be man of the match or the main figure of the team because he is so young but he’s not going on that pitch and drowning or anything. He has probably been one of our most consistent outstanding performers throughout the season.”
Hannibal Mejbri taking kicks
This was a tough encounter for Mejbri, who was on the receiving end from City both physically and verbally. He was tripped for the penalty, converted by Ethan Galbraith, that drew United level after James McAtee’s opener, and the visitors appeared to grow irritated by his style.
Mejbri can go to ground too easily but more often than not, his feet were too quick for City’s players and attempted tackles became heavy fouls. Liam Delap took exception, leaning over to point his finger down on a fallen Mejbri and issuing some choice words while partly trampling on his leg. City goalkeeper Cieran Slicker also gave Mejbri abuse as he lay on the grass at another moment.
Creditably, Mejbri did keep getting up and, just as Cristiano Ronaldo developed a thick skin through getting kicked in training by Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, this was the kind of difficult encounter to breed robustness.
City’s approach did seem to have some effect, with Mejbri dropping into safer areas and going a little quieter on his attempts to influence the game, but, at 17 years old, he has plenty of time to “fill out”, in the words of Butt, United’s head of first-team development.
The officiating
Butt has long since retired but the ferocity with which he played the game was evident during his touchline spat with Maresca. Igniting the fury was Delap’s brutal act on Reece Devine. Delap flew at a stationary Devine, with his elbow connecting in a one-sided tussle for an aerial ball. Referee Andrew Kitchen deemed it only worthy of a yellow card.
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Maresca was angered that Kitchen did not reprimand Puigmal for a tackle that left Claudio Gomes getting attention from City medics. “Shut up,” he told Butt. “Is no foul for you. Is foul for me. You are for 45 minutes talking to him (Kitchen).” Butt, it can be confirmed, did not back down.
Adrian Bernabe had earlier been shown a straight red card for a foul on Galbraith.
Wood said: “The referee needed to control it better from the beginning. Then, all of a sudden, both teams are making bad fouls. Nobody is getting booked, it’s out of control. I’m not too sure if the sending off is a red. It looked bad from the side but on the replay, his feet are on the floor.
“They have some big lads. You can hear the aggression from the sidelines. They want to put themselves about. It was important for us to stand up to that. If you start getting bullied and go under — they are good players as well — it is going to be a long day. We had a few ourselves that put a tackle in. That is part of the game.”
The future of full-backs Williams and Laird
Predictably, Brandon Williams was one of those who saw the wet conditions as an invitation to go sliding in and he was fortunate in the first half to avoid sanction for timing one effort badly. The 20-year-old gained a cult reputation among United fans for bringing an uncompromising approach to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side but his involvement has been limited this campaign.
This was an opportunity to play 90 minutes and there were a few of those characteristic bursts forward to cherish. It remains to be seen if he adds to his five senior appearances so far this season and whether United allow him out on loan in January. As The Athletic revealed last month, Southampton are among the clubs interested.
“He’s been training with the first team but he wanted to play,” said Wood. “It’s good for his match sharpness.”
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On the other flank, Ethan Laird, 19, gained valuable minutes after a frustrating period with injuries. He set up Pellistri’s goal with a trademark surge down the right, gliding past Mbete, and kept looking to repeat the move when City were down to 10. He held his position high and wide, and was vocal in telling team-mates when he wanted the ball.
“Sometimes he was getting in good positions but then cutting inside and going back,” said Wood. “We know what he was like last season: he was driving into those areas, getting to the byline and producing crosses.
“There is a way to go for him. He had a game at West Ham, then a niggling injury, then he has come back — so he has had a stop-start last few months. He felt good enough to get through the 90 minutes.”
Laird is seen as a genuine long-term rival to Aaron Wan-Bissaka but needs a period free of injury. He may benefit from a loan move in January, fitness allowing.
Facundo Pellistri finding his feet
The 18-year-old Uruguayan scored his third goal in three games at this level, finishing calmly eight yards out, and he seems to be acclimatising to England as each game passes.
United’s recruitment department felt his underlying statistics at Penarol did not reveal his full potential, with personal scouting trips showing aspects which cannot be measured, and his displays for Wood’s team bear witness to that.
Pellistri plays with determination, balance and speed. Sometimes, he might beat one man but get dispossessed by the next, and that would go down as a dribble uncompleted. The endeavour is there, though, and improvements are detectable.
A €10 million transfer fee and the lack of a certain other winger signed for Solskjaer’s squad this summer means question are asked about his first-team progress but his development will continue away from the glare of senior level for a good while yet.
(Photo: John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)