Chelsea ran out 3-1 winners at the Academy Stadium, but the scoreline was cruel on the young Blues who had been pushing hard for an equaliser before suffering a late sucker punch.
However, after a strong second half display in which they created a number of good chances to level, Jason Wilcox’s young team will go to Stamford Bridge with confidence for the second leg of this pulsating tie.
Supporters packed the Academy Stadium eager to get a glimpse of City’s potential stars of the future who had put a series of teams to the sword on their way to the final, and there was plenty of noise from those behind the goals desperate to help roar the team on.
The Youth Cup final is a special moment in any footballer’s fledgling career, and as music blared from loud speakers accompanied by pyrotechnics to welcome the teams onto the field, the sense of occasion was impossible to escape.
Unsurprisingly, Wilcox selected his strongest available side, with just two changes from the XI that took to the field in the semi-final at the King Power Stadium. Tosin Adarabioyo returned to the centre of defence and wore the captain’s armband, while Isaac Buckley came in for the injured Marcus Wood – a move which saw Kosovon international Bersant Celina drop further back into midfield.
Adarabioyo and Buckley were two of six Mancunians who started this fixture as part of a team that displayed the wealth of local talent currently being nurtured by the Academy, while Kean Bryan marshalled the midfield.
The ending to City’s semi-final encounter with Leicester proved eventful and this game picked up exactly where the last left off. Chelsea were ahead with just seven minutes on the clock, when Charlie Colkett picked a past for Tammy Abraham on the right who let fly with a thundering finish that left keeper Barker proving too much for the opposition as he drove through the centre of the park to feed Buckley, who finished with aplomb across the keeper.
The visitors had the better of the opening stages and Brown headed over the bar before Chelsea extended their lead midway through the first half – Haug did well to stop the initial effort from a corner but could not prevent Abraham’s follow-up volley from hitting the back of the net.
Chelsea enjoyed more of the ball as the half wore on but City’s defence remained stoic, limiting their opponents to half chances while Manu Garcia tried his luck from distance but his effort lacked the power to trouble the keeper.
Backed by an increasingly vocal crowd, City sprang out of the blocks after the break, and Celina and Aaron Nemane both had chances after troubling the Chelsea defence with their quick movement and interplay.
At the other end Haug’s handling was good to deny Brown with the impressive Abraham lurking with intent, before Palmer’s long range effort sailed off target under the close attentions of Adarabioyo.
However, City kept on pressing, harrying and nipping at Chelsea heels, and as the half wore on created a succession of chances to level the scores.
First, Garcia came agonisingly close after more good interplay with Celina on the edge of the box but his finish was inches the wrong side of the post, before Nemane twisted beyond a pair of defenders but couldn’t keep his resulting shot down.
Next it was Kean Bryan who went close, catching a defender dallying in a dangerous position before again smashing the ball wide of the target when perhaps he should have done better, while Garcia has the ball robbed from his toes just as he was preparing to unleash his own shot.
A spirited and battling performance in the second half merited an equaliser, but instead the Blues suffered late heartbreak as Dominic Solanke produced a clinical finish to give Chelsea a late third.
City will be disappointed to be two goals behind, but with 90 minutes still to go if they can produce another display in London that we saw here in the second half, we could be in for an exciting tie in the capital.
