Rosenborg 0 Man Utd 5: Forgotten man Joshua Zirkzee scores ‘best pre-season goal of all time’ in Red Devils rout

THERE was no Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko or Amad. With Old Trafford‘s household names left out of the spotlight, Manchester United’s hyped-up academy army didn’t just step into the vacuum in Trondheim—they stole the show. Shea Lacey of Manchester United celebrates scoring their first goal of the pre-season Credit: Getty Five goals, four of them from United’s youth ranks. All four were unofficial senior debut goals, too. Shea Lacey, Jacob Devaney, Harry Amass and Ethan Williams all struck, either side of perhaps the best pre-season goal of all time from Joshua Zirkzee as United ramped up pre-season prep. Sign up for the Man United newsletter Thank you! Michael Carrick just needed to hand 15-year-old crown jewel JJ Gabriel some minutes and it would have been the perfect trip. Carrick continued his pre-season schedule without almost all of their World Cup players. Striker Sesko was left at home too with a shin injury. Lacey, 19, was Fernandes for the day at No10 and his first senior strike gave United fans a front-row seat to the trademark goal Carrington regulars know by heart. The Liverpool-born teen steadied himself, put the defenders on their heels, and bent a beauty into the far corner, running the show against a match-fit Rosenborg midfield in the heat of their own domestic season. Against the backdrop of near silence, more seagulls than fans, Zirkzee produced a special moment as United bounced back from their 1-0 loss to Wrexham in Helsinki. The Dutchman sold two defenders with a sumptuous fake shot, only to sit the goalkeeper down after half-time. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Jacob Devaney celebrates getting on the scoresheet for Man United Credit: Getty Carrick went against the preseason grain by only making two changes at the break, with sub Amass playing a delayed one-two with Zirkzee for the evening. Recently hired Rosenborg manager Erik Alfred Johansson made 10 changes at the start of the second half, as his side bid to avoid relegation from the Norwegian top-flight, sitting three points above the drop. An hour went by before Carrick brought in eight young avengers as Dan Gore, the Fletcher twins, Toby Collyer, Dan Armer and Devaney entered the fray. Republic of Ireland youth international Devaney, 19, tripled the lead just seconds after stepping off the bench, hooking home from a corner past the hour mark. The ball may have hit the arm of Devaney’s centre-back partner Dan Armer, but VAR was missing. The closest Rosenborg came was Emil Ceide meeting a low cross from the right and striking the bar with Radek Vitek stranded. Ten minutes later, a brilliant full-back-to-full-back combination saw Harry Amass tap in Jaydan Kamason’s exquisite delivery across the face of goal. Kamason then delivered a perfect cross again after dancing into the touchline from the right to deliver it on a plate for Ethan Williams. Gabriel, entering his GCSE year and United’s academy prodigy, was sent to warm-up and stole the headlines in the pre-match build up. Gabriel’s presence in Michael Carrick’s 25-man travelling squad felt as though it was the prelude to him becoming one of the youngest players ever to feature in a senior game for the club. The Prem Under-18 player of the season will hope for a spot in the squad against Atletico de Madrid in Sweden next week, when one World Cup star in Amad returns. Comment now