MANCHESTER UNITED coasted past Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup last night – while their young guns were being blitzed 8-1 just 13 miles away.
And it left some supporters telling boss Erik ten Hag not to bother giving youth a chance.
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United’s main men romped to a 3-0 win over the Eagles at Old Trafford as goals from Alejandro Garnacho, Casemiro and Anthony Martial secured their place in the next round.
However, just down the road at Bolton, their U21 side suffered a humiliating defeat in the EFL Trophy that even had a familiar face returning to haunt them.
The Trotters, who won the competition last term, chalked up their biggest competitive victory for 40 years.
They were four goals by half time as Josh Sheehan helped himself to a brace while Dan Nlundulu and Gethin Jones also found the net.
But things continued to get even worse for Travis Binnion’s academy lads as their senior opponents ramped it up another gear after the break.
Nlundulu made it five before Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Nelson Khumbeni piled on further misery.
And then Luke Matheson, the former whizzkid that famously scored at Old Trafford against United as a 16-year-old for Rochdale in 2019, completed the rout with the eighth.
United did pull one back through Omari Forsen midway through the second half, but the night proved to be a serious baptism of fire for the kids.
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And it led to some fans harshly urging first-team manager Ten Hag to resist giving them a chance despite his team’s recent on-field struggles.
One tweeted: “Lmao. Bolton just beat our u21s 8-1. But ppl think ETH has to play them all.”
Another reacted to the Palace victory with: “At least we didnt play the kids, they got hammered by Bolton 8-1.”
As a fellow fan commented: “Crikey. The under 21s have been taught a lesson tonight. Losing 8-1 to Bolton. Welcome to professional football. Unforgiving.”
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