Shock goalscorer makes headlines as Man Utd U21s claim win over Man City

There was an unlikely goalscorer for Manchester United Under-21s in their derby win against their Manchester City counterparts on Monday night.

It was the Red Devils that struck first when England Under-17 striker beat City keeper True Grant ten minutes before half-time at Leigh Sports Village. That set the platform for former Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City midfielder Tom Huddlestone to come to the fore as the 37-year-old player-coach doubled his side’s lead nine minutes into the second-half.

The four-times capped former England international has started the last three Under-21 fixtures as Travis Binnon’s side claimed wins against Norwich City and Newcastle United, as well as falling to a 3-2 defeat at Chelsea. On his 22nd appearance for United’s second string, Huddlestone grabbed his first goal for the Red Devils and it proved crucial as City youngster Stephen Mfuni got the visitors back into the game on the hour-mark.

Speaking last year about how the shock move to United came about during the summer of 2022, Huddlestone told Soccer AM: "It was quite random to be fair. Paul McShane, who I played with at Hull, did the role last year before retiring. "He then put my name forward and it was midway through pre-season when I got the phone call. The first week (in the job) the first team was away so there was no eyes on me or any pressure like that. It's a big old building so I was saying to Macca (McShane) 'I'm just going to shadow you for the first week’.

"But the five or six coaches I'm working with daily are top notch and really helpful for me, coming from that playing side into a sort of hybrid role. When you're on the pitch you're expected to give a bit of info so its similar to that really. The hardest part is mindset-wise, remembering that you're not fighting to stay in the team. You want to do as well as you can but you know your main job is to try and develop the players around you rather than try and stay in the team for the next game.”