Joe Rothwell guided the Manchester United U21 side to a narrow victory over derby rivals Manchester City at the Leigh Sports Village on Thursday.

The Red Devils claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over and Rothwell was the star of the show, scoring the only goal of the game in his first start of the season.

The victory means that United have moved into the summit of the U21 table with 31 points from 13 matches, two points above second-placed Sunderland.

Warren Joyce had the likes of goal machine Will Keane, key defender Donald Love, talented forward James Weir, and Welsh ace Regan Poole in his starting line-up as United had some joy over their crosstown rivals.