Manchester United U21 opened their Premier League 2 campaign with a thorough 5-0 victory over Ipswich Town U21 at Old Trafford on Monday evening. The result leaves the hosts top of Division One with two wins from two matches, while Ipswich sit in 17th place after a win and a loss.
United went ahead early through J. Gabriel, who scored in the second minute. J. Fletcher doubled the lead ten minutes in before Kamason and D. Armer added two more in the first half. Gabriel found the net again just after the break to make it 5-0, ending a barren spell for the striker.
Ipswich could not respond. The visitors managed only one shot on target all game, while United rattled in ten. By then the match had become routine, and things came to a head when L. Elliott received a second yellow card in the 66th minute to leave Ipswich with ten men.
The statistics tell the story. United controlled 65 per cent of possession and registered 65 attacks compared to Ipswich's 38. The visitors had just one shot on target against seven off target for United, though the hosts were wasteful with their chances.
This result closes out a difficult run for Ipswich, who lost 2-4 to Coventry City U21 in their previous outing. United had mixed form recently, including a heavy 4-3 defeat to Manchester City U21, but this performance suggests they can raise the tempo when they need to.
