Braces from Robin van Persie and Joe Rothwell secured an emphatic 4-1 victory over Fulham, as Manchester United continued their reign at the top of the Under-21 Premier League table.
The Reds pressed from kick-off, and came close in the opening few minutes courtesy of Liam Grimshaw’s deflected effort. Fulham goalkeeper Magnus Norman faced a magnitude of threat from the likes of Andreas Pereira and Adnan Januzaj, and the visitors looked dangerous.
Unsurprisingly, a well-placed pass from Pereira found Robin van Persie – who had to settle for a place in the youth ranks after his recent injury – who coolly slotted past Norman after 13 minutes. The Dutchman soon had a penalty claim rejected after being bought to ground by Jonathan Buatu Managa, but claims were waved away as United looked to inflict further damage.
Just seven minutes after the opener, Joe Rothwell secured his side’s second of the afternoon, with Januzaj finding the midfielder while beating the offside trap. A simple finish from the youngster, who previously had a spell at Blackpool on loan, placed United in pole position for maximum points.
Fulham defender Liam Donnelly ultimately prevented a third just moments later, with a phenomenal sliding challenge halting van Persie on the edge of the box, after a tremendous link-up with Rothwell and Januzaj. Warren Joyce’s side possessed a clear edge over their London opponents, and they could have been celebrating five or six goals by half-time.
Nonetheless, Rothwell completed his brace two minutes before the interval, with Pereira leaving Januzaj’s well-placed pass to find Rothwell, who found the net from the edge of the area with a promising strike. The trio of goals completed a dominating half for the Reds, who opted to take a defensive approach for the second half.
The Lilywhites pressed harder in the second half, and Anders Lindegaard was required to make a fine save to prevent tricky winger Mesca from securing a consolation goal. After Andy Kellett was fortunate to see shouts of handball in the penalty box turned down, Lindegaard was forced to make another save to prevent Buatu from making his way onto the scoresheet.
With van Persie hitting the woodwork and Kellett possessing a threat down the channels, the visitors gained an edge once again over Fulham, and the experienced forward soon added his second of the clash. Latching onto a pass from Rothwell, captivating on sloppy defending from the hosts, van Persie released another impressive finish to beat Norman once again.
As van Persie and Rothwell both left the field minutes later to a standing ovation from the trifling crowd. However, Stephen Humphreys spoiled the hopes of a clean sheet in injury time, heading downwards to beat the Danish keeper in the closing minutes. An effort from Ange-Freddy Plumain came close to adding a shock second, but an easy victory was secured for United.
United: Lindegaard; Love, Thorpe, Blackett, Kellett; Grimshaw, Rothwell (Willock 81), Goss (Fletcher 89); Januzaj, A.Pereira, van Persie (Weir 81). Subs not used: O’Hara, El-Fitouri.
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