Manchester United's Under-21s fielded a
strong side against Sunderland at Old Trafford
and were rewarded with a 4-0 triumph as
Adnan Januzaj bagged a hat-trick.
Lous van Gaal, who attended the
clash, perhaps treated the game as more of a
traditional Reserves fixture in order to improve
the fitness of some of his players. Luke Shaw
and Januzaj may still be eligible for this level
but their senior status showed as they were
joined by Anderson and Will Keane in the
starting line-up.
Januzaj took less than two minutes to register
a shot into the side-netting following a slide-
through pass by Anderson and Maksymilian
Stryjek was kept busy by Saidy Janko's cross
and a deflected Anderson shot. The powerful
Janko smashed a drive off target as a goal
seemed increasingly inevitable.
It was supplied in the 19th minute by Januzaj,
who was presented with the ball by Stryjek's
poor clearance. The Belgian fed Will Keane and,
when it was returned to him inside the box, he
arrowed home with his left foot.
Andreas Pereira doubled the lead three minutes
later when Josh Harrop passed to the
overlapping Shaw and his cross from the left
was met with instant control and a smart
finish from the Brazil Under-20 international.
The Black Cats were in danger of being
completely over-run as Will Keane displayed
clever hold-up work when found by Shaw and
Januzaj profited, illustrating his balance and
composure with an assured finish for his
second of the night.
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