Manchester United U18s were thrashed 5-1 by Derby County yesterday.

Hit by a three-goal, seven-minute Rams salvo in the first half, it was a blow which the Reds couldn't recover from, despite Mark Helm's strike providing a glimmer of hope before the interval.

Two further Derby goals after the break put the game well out of United's reach.

The trio of Bjorn Hardley, Calen Gallagher-Allison and Hannibal Mejbri - all 16-year-olds - were called up to make their full Under-18 debuts in place of Connor Stanley, the suspended Reece Devine and Will Fish, who had made an impressive bow for the Under-23s against Fulham the previous evening at Leigh.