Manchester United will face Manchester City in the 2026 FA Youth Cup Final following a late, late win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.
Raihaan Anderson cancelled out JJ Gabriel’s goal late into regular time, before Chido Obi delivered an extra-time blow to set up an all-Manchester tie in the Final.
It was clear from the outset that Darren Fletcher’s young Reds felt they could get at their opponents, who they also meet again in less than a week in the Premier League Cup final at Selhurst Park.
Manchester United 2-1 Crystal Palace
The FA Youth Cup semi-final
Friday 17 April 2026
Old Trafford
So much so, Yuel Helafu and Obi both went closest to scoring the opener within 12 minutes of kick-off.
But while the home side passed the ball crisply and pressed aggressively, they struggled to really test the visitors’ keeper.
This appeared to have woken the Londoners, who twice went close through Dean Benamar and then David Angibeaud, with the visitors feeling harshly aggrieved for a foul on the latter, but the referee had no hesitation and waved away the Palace penalty appeals.
Javier Alonso’s team continued to make the game difficult for their opponents, who were forced to drop deeper whenever they had the ball in possession.
Benamar quickly got into his stride and found the head of Benji Casey, who couldn’t quite find the target before Lucca Benetton was called into action when the Reds attacked at the other end.
It was a tightly contested game as both teams battled for a spot in the Final
It took until the hour mark for the next chance to arrive, and when it did Obi arguably should have put the hosts ahead from a matter of yards out.
That seemed to spark United into more decisive action and only a Benetton save stopped it from being 1-0 when the Palace ‘keeper reacted smartly to recover on the line.
Substitute Samuel Lusale then looked to make an immediate impact against his former club, but again the end product was missing inside the Reds’ attacking area.
Gabriel inevitably had his moment in the 76th minute when the youngster was slipped in by Obi, and the 15 year old unerringly found the bottom corner from close range.
But despite their domination, one goal was never going to be enough to allow the Reds to settle, and the visitors responded almost instantly.
JJ Gariel opened the scoring for United in the second half
Cameron Byrne-Hughes came out to collect a long ball over the top, but instead left Anderson with the whole goal ahead of him to level it up in Manchester.
It was all happening in the remaining minutes, as Ben Casey looked to be the hero, only to be denied by a combination of the woodwork and Dan Armer and the teams couldn’t be separated after 90 minutes.
In extra time, any momentum that was had by either team dried out, with a single shot from Kairo Smith-Phillips being saved by the Reds’ keeper.
James Overy was causing problems down the right and with three minutes left on the clock, he found Obi to provide a late strike to floor the Eagles who will be disappointed after pushing the eleven-time Youth Cup winners all the way.
Manchester United: Cameron Byrne-Hughes, Yuel Helafu, Albert Mills, Dan Armer, Godwill Kukonki, Rafe McCormack, Nathaniel Junior Brown, Jim Thwaites, Chido Obi, JJ Gabriel, Noah Ajayi.
Substitutes: Samuel Lusale for Brown 65’, James Overy for Helafu 97’, Jay McEvoy for Gabriel 112’, Louie Bradbury for Ajayi 116’
Substitutes not used: Fred Heath, Jacob Watson, Jariyah Shah.
Head coach: Darren Fletcher
Crystal Palace: Lucca Benetton, Jacob Fasida, Dean Benamar, Charlie Walker-Smith, Sean Somade, Chuks Okoli, Joel Drakes-Thomas, Euan Danaher, Ben Casey, Raihaan Anderson, David Angibeaud.
Substitutes: Donte Martin for Angibeaud 31’, Hugo Bull for Walker-Smith 46’, Kayden Michael Moses for Martin 98’, Dylan Monk for Somade 104’, Khyan Frazer-Williams for Benamar 119’
Substitutes not used: Jack Mason, Kairo Smith-Phillips.
Head coach: Javier Alonso