Manchester United's Young Stars Shine in Norway with 5-0 Victory
Manchester United’s preseason finally caught fire in Trondheim, and it was the kids who lit the fuse.
A day after that flat 1-0 defeat to Wrexham, Michael Carrick took a mixed squad of seniors, signings and starlets to Lerkendal Stadion and watched them dismantle Rosenborg 5-0. Four goals after the break, five different scorers, and a statement that this tour will not just be about easing legs back into shape.
This was about intent.
Lacey opens the door
Rosenborg are in the thick of their domestic season, sharper and fitter on paper. It didn’t look that way for long.
United’s early control needed a cutting edge, and it arrived from one of the youngest players on the pitch. Shea Lacey, bright and brave from the first whistle, broke the deadlock with the sort of finish that makes coaches sit up. Joshua Zirkzee, dropping into pockets and knitting moves together, slid a clever throughball into space. Lacey didn’t hesitate. One touch to set himself, one to guide it past the keeper. Calm, clinical, and suddenly the evening had a different feel.
Carrick’s side began to play with a looseness that only comes when the scoreboard is on your side. Passes zipped. The press looked coordinated. Andrey Santos, once again, stitched things together in midfield, snapping into challenges and feeding the front line with quick, vertical balls. It was only a friendly, but the patterns were clear.
Zirkzee’s moment of class
If Lacey’s opener settled United, Zirkzee’s goal early in the second half silenced any doubt about the result.
The forward produced the pick of the goals with a piece of close-range artistry. In a crowded box, he killed the ball, shifted his weight, and left defenders and the goalkeeper sprawled as he picked his spot. It was a striker’s goal, but also a technician’s. One of those moments that makes a preseason game feel bigger than it is.
From there, Rosenborg sagged. United didn’t.
The pressure told again as Jacob Devaney pounced from close range to make it three. It was not a spectacular strike, but it was the kind of goal coaches love: a young player following in, alive to the rebound, rewarded for being in the right place at the right time.
Amass and Williams join the party
By now, United’s youngsters were running the game against opponents who, on paper, should have had the legs on them. Carrick rotated, but the intensity stayed high.
Harry Amass, introduced from the bench, seized his chance. Driving forward with the energy of a player desperate to be noticed, he capped an impressive substitute appearance with United’s fourth. Again, it was about conviction: commit, overlap, finish. Simple ideas, executed with maturity.
There was still time for Ethan Williams to write his own line into the night. Another youngster, another goal, and Rosenborg’s resistance long since broken. Williams’ strike completed the 5-0 scoreline and underlined the theme of the evening: this was a showcase for United’s next generation as much as a tune-up for the established names.
Carrick’s biggest takeaway
The margin of victory will draw attention, but the context matters more. United arrived in Norway without many of their World Cup players, most of them still on post-tournament breaks. This was not a full-strength Premier League machine rolling over a side in mid-season. It was a patched-together group, some barely out of academy football, facing a Rosenborg team at full match fitness.
That makes the performance, not just the result, the real positive for Carrick.
Santos again looked sharp in the first half, comfortable on the ball and alert without it. Zirkzee offered craft and presence in attack. Yet the real satisfaction for the manager will be how his youngsters handled the occasion: Lacey’s composure, Devaney’s instinct, Amass’ drive, Williams’ end product.
Preseason can flatter to deceive, but effort and attitude rarely lie.
Next up is Atletico Madrid at Strawberry Arena in Solna on August 1, a very different kind of examination and a significant step up in edge and intensity. If United’s kids can carry this swagger into that test, Carrick may find his selection headaches arriving sooner than expected this season.
