Rosenborg 0, Man Utd 5: Joshua Zirkzee Shines with 'Greatest Pre-Season Goal Ever' in Red Devils' Dominant Victory

THERE was no Bruno Fernandes, Senne Lammens or Amad.

With ‘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, and Ethan Williams all struck, either side of perhaps the best goal of all time from as United ramped up pre-season prep.

Michael Carick just needed to hand 15-year-old some minutes and it would have been the perfect trip.

Carrick continued his pre-season schedule without almost all of their World Cup players.

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.

The Dutchman sold two defenders with a sumptuous fake shot, only to sit the goalkeeper down after half-time.

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.

Jacob Devaney celebrates getting on the scoresheet for Man United Credit: Getty

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 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.

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.