Manchester United: Alejandro Garnacho hits Ronaldo 'Siuu' celebration in FA Youth Cup final

Manchester United hosted a sell-out crowd at Old Trafford as their under-18s won 3-1 to pip Nottingham Forest to the FA Youth Cup.

Just shy of 70,000 fans, which included an equally as impressive away end in support of Forest, watched on as the two sides played out an even contest in the first half.

The evening couldn’t have started any better for United as captain Rhys Bennett headed the young Red Devils ahead after just 11 minutes, but Forest responded well and ramped up the pressure. That pressure resulted in a timely equaliser when Joshua Powell’s shot forced an error out of United goalkeeper Radek Vitek, just two minutes before the half-time whistle.

Old Trafford remained in fine voice heading into the second half as the two talented sides continued to trade blows. Both teams had chances to take the lead in an evenly poised cup final, but United‘s attacking talent struggled to break beyond a resilient Forest defence, resulting in a quiet night at the office for star striker Charlie McNeill.

As the game drew on and became more open, however, it was time for heroes. To the delight of United fans, that hero was none other than Alejandro Garnacho.

The attacker has starred for United at varying levels this season. So much so, his form with the under-18s and 23s earned him a call-up to the senior Argentina squad earlier in 2022, where he rubbed shoulders with none other than Lionel Messi.

A call-up to the first-team has since followed, where the 17-year-old has trained alongside Messi’s greatest rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, and made his full debut for United against Chelsea in April.

Having ripped up the FA Youth Cup throughout the campaign, the stage was set for Garnacho to impress in front of a full crowd, especially