Manchester United won the FA Youth Cup for a record 11th time in front of the biggest crowd in the competition’s 70-year history. The 67,492 at Old Trafford for the 3-1 triumph over Nottingham Forest was almost 30,000 more than the previous best, at Arsenal in 2007.
Former Manchester United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson was in the stands, along with current United first-team players Bruno Fernandes, David de Gea, and Harry Maguire, to see Alejandro Garnacho score a decisive double in the final 13 minutes.
Garnacho, who was called up to the senior Argentina squad in March, kept his cool to send Aaron Bott the wrong way from a controversial penalty, awarded despite the forward being brought down outside the area by Zach Abbott following the Forest defender’s miscontrol. After Garnacho scored, he marked the goal with a Cristiano Ronaldo-style celebration by shouting ‘seiyuu’ – a drawn-out version of the Portuguese word for ‘yes’.
Garnacho then sealed a record 11th triumph in the competition for Manchester United in stoppage time when he darted into the box, then benefited from a massive deflection as the ball flew into the corner. It was harsh on Nottingham Forest and their 5,700-strong traveling support, who goaded United with a ‘you’re not famous anymore’ chant during the opening period.
Forest first-team boss Steve Cooper, who will lead his side in their Championship play-off semi-final against Sheffield United on Saturday, also came to eat h the game. Nottingham Forest was the first to score as Bott failed to hold Rhys Bennett’s downward header, the visitors, coached by former United reserve team boss Warren Joyce, fully deserved their equalizer, even though Josh Powell’s speculative shot only went in thanks to a huge error from United’s Czech keeper Radek Vitek.
The final whistle brought a rare opportunity to celebrate for the home fans at the end of a first-team season that has fallen short of expectations, with the side sixth in the Premier League and without a trophy. Noisy protests against the Glazer family ownership, which have been a feature of recent games at the stadium, were largely absent, although there was one significant chant against them.