Manchester United U19s score six against Lithuanian champions; Sekou Kone highlights



Sekou Kone and Gabriele Biancheri grab the headlines after a 6-0 win over FK Zalgiris.

Manchester United U19s recorded a dominant 11-2 aggregate victory over Lithuanian youth champions FK Zalgiris to qualify for the UEFA Youth League third round, where they will take on Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.

A 5-2 triumph in Vilnius two weeks ago gave United a decent advantage going into Wednesday evening’s second leg at Leigh Sports Village.

Two players will grab the headlines for their performance after a strong display from Adam Lawrence’s young reds, after his U18s side beat Leeds 8-0 at the weekend. Gabriele Biancheri continued his goalscoring form while new signing Sekou Kone replaced Jayce Fitzgerald at half-time.

United took just seven minutes to break the deadlock as Ethan Williams converted an incredible Ashton Missin assist to score. The lead was doubled by captain Tyler Fredricson, who headed home from a corner to kill off the tie.

United grabbed a third before half-time, with Wheatley scoring his sixth of the season (U19s & U21s). The goals continued into the second half as Missin completed his brace with United’s fourth before Biancheri scored his 17th of the season with a sublime finish.

James Scanlon made it 6-0 to seal the win.

United: Murdock, Kamason, Jackson (Munro 68), Fredricson, Amass (Mantato 61), Devaney, Fitzgerald (Kone 45), Missin, J. Fletcher, Williams (Scanlon 68) Wheatley (Biancheri 61)

Unused subs: Musa, Baumann, Kukonki, Byrne-Hughes

Sekou Kone highlights against FK Zalgiris U19s

Photo by Getty Images

Kone, who joined United in the summer, is thought to have a bright future ahead of him.

We saw glimpses of why coaches at United feel that way about the defensive midfielder as he came on at half-time to protect the back four.

@nathsalt1 The 18-year-old midfielder played 45 minutes in a UEFA Youth League Qualifier and caught the eye 👀 #muacademy #manchesterunited #manutd #footballedit #risingballers #sekoukone #mufc ♬ original sound – FIFA Songs

Footage courtesy of Nathan Salt from the Daily Mail

Kone kept the ball moving across midfield and made several interceptions to win back possession.

With more minutes in the youth team, Kone needs to keep working hard if he wants to push for first team action. It looks like he could add a bit of quality to our midfield but it’s still early days.