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While Manchester United faced Barcelona in the Europa League on Thursday night, the two clubs also arranged a friendly earlier in the day between their youth teams.
Among the opponents was João Mendes, the son of Barcelona legend Ronaldinho, who recently signed for the Spanish giants after a successful trial.
The son of the Ballon d’Or winner led the row for Barcelona who emerged victorious 3-1.
It was an even game, with the score tied 1-1 until the last five minutes of the game, when Barcelona scored on two late set pieces.
United were led into the match by former Barcelona youth player Marc Jurado and Tom Huddlestone’s experienced header also played an unusual role at the heart of the defence.
Ethan Williams scored for United in the first half with the score level before half-time.
The heavy turnover around the 70th minute mark saw a number of schoolboys enter the field for United, including under-15s Bendito Mantato and under-16s Jacob Devaney, who made his first appearance at the level after recently returning from a long absence due to injury.
Excited about the prospect of European exposure for United’s academy talent, academy director Nick Cox said before the game: “We are always looking to innovate and deliver world-class experiences for our players.
“We have organized this match to enhance our existing game programme, complement our match volume and expose players to the types of experiences they will have if they make it to our first team.
“To face a team of this quality is an incredible opportunity, but the lads will also learn what it means to represent Manchester United in Europe.
“Playing in a different environment, a new stadium, maybe a different climate and against an alternative style of play is part of his learning and development process.
“We are all looking forward to the game and the benefits it will bring to the group.”
United XI: Vitek, Jurado, Huddlestone, Aljofree, Murray, Collyer, Gore, Williams, Hansen-Aarøen, Forson, Hugill
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