Man United striker Chido Obi is set to be named in the first-team squad to face Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
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The U18s came from behind to win 3-2.(Image: Manchester United)
Manchester United Under-18s secured a comeback win without Chido Obi on Saturday afternoon. Obi has been promoted to the first-team squad in the last few weeks and the U18s haven't looked as clinical, but they won 3-2 against Derby after scoring two goals in the second half.
The U18s are attempting to defend their league title this season and they were trailing 2-1 at the break against Derby away from home, seemingly missing the presence of Obi up front.
However, Gabriele Biancheri equalised with just over 20 minutes remaining and United were awarded a penalty shortly after that, which James Scanlon converted to win the game.
The U18s found a way to win to send themselves to the top of the league, although rivals Manchester City are just a point behind United and they have a game in hand to play.
Adam Lawrence's side are set to take the league campaign to the final day and they are hoping to win the Youth Cup, but Obi might have to be involved for that trophy to be claimed.
Obi has scored seven goals in the Youth Cup this term and he missed the U18s' clash against Arsenal in the quarter-finals because he was needed in the first-team squad.
The U18s won 3-2 against Arsenal in extra-time and will face either Aston Villa or Plymouth Argyle in the semi-finals. United will decide whether Obi is permitted to feature in that clash and academy staff will feel they will have a better chance of winning the Youth Cup with the 17-year-old in the team.
United have won the Youth Cup (11) more than other other side and they have brushed aside Coventry City, Preston North End, Chelsea and Arsenal on the way to the semi-finals.
After beating Arsenal, Lawrence spoke to the Manchester Evening News and said: "I think to be able to come back twice in a game like this and win it extra-time, it's really special. What we do know about the boys is it's not an accident in terms of the attitude that we see every day and their mentality toward getting better and improving.
"They have history at being strong in the latter stages. We always felt we could score and have that moment, but there's always a chance it doesn't quite happen. I thought they showed character.
"We felt we had the game under good control. Arsenal were set up in a way tonight and were well-coached. They had a clear idea of what they wanted to do and they were a main threat in those transition moments, mainly through the boy Dowman and some of their attacking players.
"It was about being really extreme with the control we had, making more passes, managing the spaces and attacking when it was really obvious. If you just attack every time you get it or leave the game too open, it ends up getting a bit basketball-like, so we tried to manage it."
He continued: "If it ended up being that way [City in the final], that would be great because we'd be in the final, but we have a big game before we get there and we're not focused on that.
"It's nice for the boys to enjoy this moment and then we'll start looking forward to the next couple of games and hopefully we'll be ready when that comes around.
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"This competition is special for us, it's special for every club. We have a massive history in it and we want the boys to really embrace these occasions, so we've had three home games that have tested us in different ways and we've had to get past Chelsea and Arsenal in the last two rounds."