Manchester United’s youth graduates helped out their side in the Premier League opener.
Throughout Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Leicester City on the opening night of the Premier League, the club’s academy graduates were pivotal in ensuring Jose Mourinho’s side got off to a winning start.
United and its fans pride themselves on the club’s history of promoting youth team players and nurturing them into world class talents.
They have done so with David Beckham, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and more recently with the likes of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, helping these players grow from youngsters into established internationals who are comfortable playing at the highest level.
There were three Manchester United academy graduates on the pitch at kick-off of the home side’s match with the Foxes on Friday night, as Paul Pogba, Andreas Pereira and Rashford were named in the starting eleven.
Three youth players start and one on bench…3,923 consecutive first team #mufc games since October 1937 with an Academy graduate in the match day squad @ManUtd #youth #history #80years #culture @andrinhopereira @paulpogba @MarcusRashford @mctominay10
— The MUFC Academy 🥇🔴⚪️⚫️🐝🍷 (@mrmujac) August 10, 2018
Both Pogba and Rashford performed well, with Pogba’s early goal and impressive performance of particular note, though it was Pereira – a player who has yet to truly break into the United side – who staked his claim for a place on the team sheet week in, week out.
Midfielder Scott McTominay was introduced later in the match by Jose Mourinho, replacing new signing Fred in midfield, and in doing so the Portuguese coach set a rather unlikely record.
By bringing on McTominay – and by starting Pereira, Pogba and Rashford – Mourinho ensured that United’s academy graduates have played more minutes in just one game of the new Premier League season than their rivals Manchester City’s youth players did in the entirety of the 2017/18 season.
Between the four of them, they played 253 Premier League minutes, more than double the amount played by Pep’s youngsters last season.
The stat will understandably delight Manchester United fans, who despite being behind their rivals in terms of domestic stature, can still use the argument over their respective youth systems as a way of ensuring bragging rights.
