Scanlon Hat-Trick! 🎩 | Man Utd vs Sporting | U21s Highlights

We are underway in the Premier League International Cup between Manchester United and Sporting Club de Portugal. United looking for a victory to give themselves the best possible chance of qualification for the knockout phase, as James Fitzgerald just gets a little bit too tight to Camacho. Free kick is taken quickly. United in white shorts and white socks, that's reminiscent of European competition for the first team in years gone by. I always remember Sir Alex Ferguson playing white shorts, white socks in the Champions League. It was a great kick from Fonso Lee. Good pull forward. He's being chased by a couple, but Murdoch, good starting position, slides across and scoops that up in front of Diogo Martins. Clip forward by Camerson. Camerson down the right-hand side. He'll try and get into the box here, he's done brilliantly, Jadon Camerson pulls it back, and it's behind everybody. Nobody coming to meet it, but that's a lovely run from Jadon Camerson, and ball into the box was dangerous too. Really was, and once he got his body across, Lee just could not make the challenge. Here goes to Tyler Fletcher. What I would say is that this under-21 side have been moving the ball absolutely brilliantly for the opening seven and a half minutes. I'm not sure I've seen a misplaced pass so far. Really comfortable, and consequently, Sporting have reacted by making sure they've got pretty much everybody back behind the ball. That's a lovely turn from Chase Fitzgerald, lovely feet as well. Chops back, needs a bit of support, cross it comes, shot comes in, and now it's brilliant, absolutely fantastic from James Scanlon. Rattles home right-footed, but all of it made by the dancing feet of Chase Fitzgerald, picks the pass, fired home 1-0. That's a superb start, and a deserved one as well. Quick thinking by Tyler Fletcher, plays the ball into Fitzgerald who wriggles away from a couple of challenges. And you watch the goalkeeper, I mean, here he goes in between two, good strength, gets away from the challenge of Martins. And as the goalkeeper moves across, James Scanlon just fires the ball back into that far corner and just doesn't give the goalkeeper a chance to set himself at all as he moves with the path of the ball. And it's a really, really solid clinical finish from James Scanlon right into that bottom corner. And a really good start. Yeah, really good start, and Sporting have just not got out to him. He's taken up a position where nobody's got to him, and he's got plenty of time to measure that right-footed shot into the bottom right-hand corner. Can't get much better starts than that, after eight minutes, United lead by a goal to nil. And on a night where, obviously, winning the game is the key, but once you get into this sort of a rhythm, you're looking at not whether you can win the game, but because it might come down to it, how many of you may be able to win it by. But that's a little sort of thing on the backburner for later. Well, both Will Murdoch and Diego León absolutely convinced that that ball has not gone out of play. The assistant absolutely convinced that it had, and it's resulted in a Sporting corner. Here is the resulting corner. Comes all the way through, it's in the back of the net! I don't know how that's happened, but it's come sailing through the penalty area, skipped on inside the box, it's past Will Murdoch, and we're back level again, just 90 seconds after Manchester United scored. Sporting have managed to get themselves level, I think it's Sandro Gamboa that's claiming it. Right, it seemed to... I think there was a flick off the head, wasn't there, of Lee at the near post? Was it Lee or was it Alves? They're 0-2, though, aren't they? Move the ball quickly, and maybe a space will open itself up. Jace Fitzgerald, surveying the scene, it's a lovely turn from Tyler Fletcher, lovely flick to Biancheri! Biancheri's effort is straight at Miguel Guevara. Well, they managed to create a gap that wasn't really there. It's a clever little ball from Jace Fitzgerald, really good take on the turn, on the half-turn, I should say, from Tyler Fletcher. And then a quick snapshot from Biancheri. A pass as well, isn't it? Ball down the right-hand side, finds Malakai Sharp, Sharp with the cross, towards the back post, chance for a header! Oh, what an opportunity, that is brilliant defending. Sharp, back down the line to Kamerson. Kamerson... ...finds Sharp again. An excellent defensive header to get that away because it looked like it was... ...plumb on the head of Fletcher, didn't it? Yeah, it certainly did. I was waiting for the goalkeeper to move to try and make a save. Lovely ball inside, Lee, and Malakai Sharp takes one out. It does actually come off the head of Fletcher, he's just had a little nudge. Under pressure, yeah. Good football from Manchester United as they work it down the right-hand side again, intercepted but re-intercepted by Tyler Fletcher. Has runners, right and left, going to find Malakai Sharp, Sharp's effort! Good foot save from the goalkeeper, Cuevilla. One back by Jadon Kamerson, knocked out of play. And will be in the Manchester United corner. Well, they're struggling with the pace of Malakai Sharp down this right-hand side. Nicely weighted ball from Tyler Fletcher into his path, cross comes shot. Fletcher. Goes over the top, he's looking for the run of Malakai Sharp again. Sharp, in at the edge of the penalty area, just a tactical nudge, we'll call that, from Malakai Sharp. Goalkeeper smashes it out of play. Looking for the pace again. Here it is, tactical nudge, just there. Out to the edge of the area, Rafael Mourata out to Miguel Alves. Alves, Mourata, Lee. In the line to Momada. Calmly done from Tyler Fletcher, and now Jace Fitzgerald up to the edge of the box. Fitzgerald, who was the maker from the first, looks to create again! Left-footed effort, goes wide for a corner. You could see that what was in his mind was trying to find an avenue for the pass through to Gabe Bianchieri, who'd gone off in front of him, and as he darted in behind the sporting player, that was cut off. I do also realise how old I sound, you know, talking about the fact that I'm wearing short sleeves and gloves, it's not that big a deal. And yet here I am, whinging. It is a bit of an anomaly though, isn't it? Sporting still trying to find a way through here, Manchester United aggressive in the challenge, have won it back. Found a bit of space as well, it's opened up here. Scanlon's gonna have a goal, it's brilliant! It's a second for James Scanlon, and it is an exercise, from outside the penalty area, rammed home to give Manchester United a 2-1 lead. Absolutely, I mean his first goal was a really clever strike, back across where the goalkeeper had come from, but here, he picks the ball up, and he only had one thing in his mind. Infield, giving himself the opportunity to see where he wanted to plant it, and he went for exactly the same place. So it's frustration that's been brought on purely by his own doing. Referee brings the first half to a close, and a dominant Manchester United performance sees them lead Sporting by two goals to one, thanks to two absolute corkers from left winger James Scanlon, stepping in from the right-hand side after a brilliant bit of work from Jace Fitzgerald, to open the scoring fired low into the bottom right-hand corner. Raphael Motta managed to grab an equaliser from a set-piece for Sporting, but it was all Manchester United from that point onwards, and James Scanlon's solo effort to give Manchester United a 2-1 lead, was an absolute rocket from 30 yards, really well done from this young Manchester United side. At the break, they lead Sporting by two goals to one. We're underway in the second half with Manchester United leading Sporting by two goals to one in the Premier League International Cup from the Progress with Unity Stadium. If that's not a mouthful at the beginning of the second half, I don't know what is. Given away by Sporting, I thought that was going to turn into an opportunity greater than it was. Ball out to the right-hand side to Malakai Sharpe, he's brought down. Sharpe to Camerson, Camerson in the penalty area, looping one comes through the box and it's deflected wide for a corner. That's a great ball, isn't it, from Tyler Fletcher played out to Sharpe, and he keeps it in beautifully, and he just waits for the arrival of Camerson. Nobody really comes to close him down, eventually they do get a block on the shot from the full-back. Taken short, Fletcher, Scanlon. James Scanlon, Fletcher, swings one back in towards the back post, real opportunity. Offside flag went up against Tyler Frederiksen. What a great ball, you just think, is it going to come in, is it going to come in? And he completely shipped it to the other side, and this is a great ball, played into a wonderful area for him, Tyler Fletcher. Fletcher to Fitzgerald, good game, Jase Fitzgerald. That's a lovely ball forward to Tyler Fletcher, Fletcher measures that pass brilliantly to Biancheri, Biancheri pulls it back, big deflection wide for a corner. Really good break, he has had a good game, Jase Fitzgerald, but so has Tyler Fletcher. Especially when he gets into these positions, those little slide-rule passes, you could see what Biancheri was trying, just trying to pull it back into the path of James Scanlon. Fletcher, Jack Fletcher that is, taking the corner. It's another good ball into the box, oh, it needs dealing with by the goalkeeper, who I think was a little panicked by the fact that it was arrowing towards the penalty area, hurriedly gets something on it. Like his brother before him, playing the ball into a really good area. I'm going to try and fight the PA, I'm just going to let him finish and then we'll carry on talking. I think it sounded like there might have been a bit of an issue when they were trying to be read out the first time. Watson with the throw-in for Manchester United. Travis Binion and Daniel Fletcher on the front row there. Jonny Evans on the back row and we can see Michael Carrick alongside Jonathan Woodgate. On the left of your screen, Steven Torpy alongside Jason Wilcox on the back row. Watson. Scanlon. Fletcher. David Devaney moving up on the right-hand side. Comes across to Frederiksen. Through the middle to Fitzgerald. Sporting still working hard to try and get close to Manchester United, but again United moving the ball really well. It's been a real feature, hasn't it, of the 75 minutes that we've watched. Sporting very much chasing, United very much in control. I know that stats at this sort of a level, when you're talking about possession, are not going to be massively high. But they'll be so, so impressed with the way that they've kept the ball this evening and made Sporting work. And just limited them to hardly anything, but there is still time left and you just need to keep your concentration levels. We know the football's there, we know the quality's there, but just your concentration can cost you. Watson. Mike Solanke has added his name to the school sheet at Tottenham Hotspur. Make it 2-0 against ten man Borussia Dortmund. Plenty of rumours and speculation about the future of Thomas Frank as that ball's over the top by Manchester United. Pull back here, might be a chance for Chitawobi, lifted into Scanlon for the hat-trick. James Scanlon squeezes it in near post, gives Manchester United a two-goal cushion and completes his hat-trick. United 3, Sporting 1. Well, it's looking like it's going to be his night, but again it's that right-hand side that's a problem. Not Malakaisi out this time because he's not on the field, but I tell you what, it's a really, really good finish. When you think he's opening his body out, maybe to fire it across and it's a poor clearance. Actually, it wasn't a clearance, was it? It was Chitawobi that got his head, that got something on it before it was cleared. Goalkeeper comes up lacking. Through the middle, he's not far away from reaching Jack Fletcher. Scooped up by the keeper. Decent ball from his brother as well. A pair of them have demonstrated this evening how good their passing can be, both short and long. That's a good ball over the top and there might be a chance here for Sporting. Will Murdoch's got some work to do. Into the penalty area, it's finished brilliantly well. And wheeling away. Wow, all of a sudden, back into it. A substitute Peixoto manages to slot home and all of a sudden, with eight minutes to go, it's 3-2. He had more than enough time, didn't he? I'm not quite sure what happened to the marking, but when the header was missed in the middle, Peixoto was already on his way. He was talking about concentration levels and things can just happen if you switch off. Fortunately, United have that cushion. Sporting are going to throw the kitchen sink at it. I think they might have a chance as Mercado gets there. Watson sweeps it away. Alves to Mota. Intercepted and that's going to be put back into the path of Obi. Just going to calm things down and wait for the reinforcements. Has options right and left. Still going here, Chido Obi. Toes this into James Scanlon for his fourth of the night. Brilliant interception. What a tackle that is to prevent number four for James Scanlon. Yeah, it was a short pass and United capitalised straight away. Good feet from Chido Obi. I thought he was going to slip-pitch Gerald in there, but he does the next best thing. Long one potentially as Nikitenko comes over to take this. It is a short one in the end. United are alive and aware to it. Referee brings the game to a close and Manchester United end the group phase of the Premier League International Cup with a win over Sporting. Played very well too. A hat-trick for James Scanlon. Full-time, Manchester United 3, Sporting 2.