Manchester United’s Under-19 side are through to the next round of the UEFA Youth League after a comeback 2-1 win over their Villarreal counterparts.
United were 1-0 down at half-time, due to Alex Jimenez’s header and in truth, it could have been worse.
Goalkeeper Radek Vitek kept United in the game before the interval with a string of impressive saves.
The second period was much improved from United as they rallied to win the game thanks to goals from Charlie McNeill and Sam Mather.
In that second 45 minutes, Anthony Elanga, Teden Mengi and Hannibal were outstanding.
But they would not have had the platform on which to build that recovery without Vitek’s first half heroics.
Credit should also go to United’s coaching staff, for their half-time team talk and the switch to four at the back when chasing the game.
But Vitek also deserves praise for his performance in the first half, when none of his teammates were at the required standard.
Reaction
Some United fans were watching on ahead of the senior team’s clash with Villarreal.
On Twitter, they reacted to Vitek’s performance positively, giving him the credit he deserved.
There will be more tests against Europe’s best young players to come now United have gone top of the group and qualified and Vitek will hope to keep on impressing…
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