Manchester United are out of the FA Youth Cup after an agonising penalty shootout defeat to Aston Villa.
It was a much-anticipated battle for Adam Lawrence and his usually excellent Manchester United academy side.
After an impressive cup run, Monday night signalled the end of United’s FA Youth Cup hopes after 120 minutes of a fight against a stubborn and well-organised Aston Villa team who frustrated the visitors to Villa Park.
United were the better team by quite some distance, however, slow and risk-averse play in the final third meant that the game ended 1-1 with James Scanlon scoring his 20th of the season for the Red Devils.
After extra time saw momentum halted, United went on to be defeated 3-1 on penalties, with the Villa goalkeeper, Sam Proctor, impressively saving two and watching Zach Baumann’s penalty roll wide.
Despite the disappointment, United will take some positives from the game. One player in particular caught the eye.
READ: Man Utd under-18s top scorers and assists in 2024/25, all results
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
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Sir Alex Ferguson watched as Bendito Mantato was a standout
When considering the attacking talent on display, including Ruben Amorim allowing Chido Obi to play for the U18s, goals were expected at Villa Park.
Sir Alex Ferguson was in the stands to watch United’s exciting U18 side as the club legend surely had hoped to see Chido Obi and others put on a clinic similar to the wins over Chelsea and Arsenal.
United may have struggled offensively, but there was one bright spark. This was Bendito Mantato, who was as brilliant as ever when Lawrence substituted him onto the pitch.
Mantato picked up the ball numerous times, driving forward toward the Villa box before the ball just got away from him or he was brought down.
The brilliant winger is almost undefendable and almost always stands out as the best player on the pitch, and he may have been heralded as a generational talent had he finished his runs off more effectively.
Mantato is the kind of youngster Sir Alex would love, and after this cameo, it is as clear as day that Amorim must integrate the 17-year-old.
Bendito Mantato is a game-changer in the waiting for Manchester United
It has been claimed that Mantato is set to be handed a professional United contract, with Amorim said to already be planning to hand the sensational talent his debut.
Stylistically, Mantato is the perfect fit for Amorim’s system with the right wing-back position potentially calling his name, sharing similar traits with Geovany Quenda, who was one of 27 academy graduates at Sporting under Amorim.
Mantato could offer United so much going forward down the right, similar to the impact Patrick Dorgu had down the left side, and this would be a massive upgrade for the system on using a full-back in the form of Diogo Dalot.
Performances like Monday night and countless others prove Mantato is a future star for United, and it could be about time Amorim gave him a step up and some senior minutes between now and the season ending.