What happened...
Manchester City twice came from behind to begin Merit Group A with a 2-2 draw against Manchester United at the City Football Academy.
Missing the likes of Jadon Sancho, Joel Latibeaudiere and Lorenzo Gonzalez, City were held by their local rivals despite two strikes from Lukas Nmecha.
The Blues suffered a scare early on as United’s Angel Gomes fired into the roof of the net but only after the referee’s whistle had signalled the England youth international had handled the ball.
Much of the first half followed a similar pattern with City’s possession struggling to make inroads against a compact United and the visitors taking every opportunity to break with pace.
That method proved effective for United midway through the half as they took the lead through a drilled Angel Gomes effort that left Aro Muric with no chance.
City weren’t to stay behind for long however and, after being denied moments earlier, Nmecha made no mistake as he latched on to a delicious Phil Foden through ball.
That gave City the momentum and Luke Bolton soon forced United goalkeeper Theo Richardson into a diving save before Joe Coveney thundered a header against the crossbar.
If it was City who ended the first half on top, United were in the ascendancy come the start of the second period.
The visitors took the lead in the shortly before the hour mark as Coveney stretched to make a tackle but only succeeded in turning the ball past Muric and into his own net.
City improved when behind once again and Luke Bolton’s whipped cross in the 70th minute found the lethal Nmecha to tap home.
That set up a tense end-to-end finish and after Muric had kept City on level terms with two diving saves, the Blues went up the other end and created chances of their own.
Tom Dele-Bashiru fired an effort at goal that was denied only by a flying defensive block before Lukas Nmecha went around the last defender and slid his effort past the post in the dying moments.
View last week’s FA Youth Cup rout of Stoke City here...
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What it means...
City start the Merit Group A with a draw and will play six more matches in the stage. Next up; they will travel to Stoke City on Monday 3 April in the second leg of their FA Youth Cup semi-final.
Here’s all you need to know on how Merit Group A works...
Key moment...
They say good goalkeepers earn their team points on their own and in Aro Muric; City have one of the best in the U18 Premier League.
The Swiss shot-stopper made an incredible double save in the final ten minutes to keep City on level terms and inspire them to push for the elusive winner.
Man of the match...
Lukas Nmecha – He’s in a rich vein of form after his hat-trick performance in the FA Youth Cup rout of Stoke and the England U19s striker was impressive once again.
Physically imposing and a constant handful for United’s centre-backs, Nmecha also possesses a deadly eye for goal.
How they lined up...
Aro Muric continued in goal.
Demeaco Duhaney started at right-back with Joe Coveney and captain Ed Francis in the centre and Tyreke Wilson at left-back.
Jacob Davenport sat at the base of the midfield behind Phil Foden and Tom Dele-Bashiru while Luke Bolton and Ian Carlo Poveda flanked central striker Lukas Nmecha.
