Angel Gomes Scores First Goal For Manchester United Against Spurs

18-year old youngster Angel Gomes got off the mark for Manchester United in the club's 2-1 win over Spurs in Japan, scoring the winner in the International Champions Cup fixture.

Gomes, the godson of United winger Nani, played a silky one-two with Juan Mata and then produced a tidy finish to beat Paulo Gazzaniga in the 80th minute.

Gomes, speaking after the game to MUTV, said seeing the ball go in the back of the net gave him a "great feeling" and that he "just wanted to celebrate with all of the fans".

The strike from the pint-sized Stockport youngster means United have won all four of their pre-season fixtures so far under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but much more encouragingly, youngsters such as Gomes, Mason Greenwood and Tahith Chong have been extremely impressive.

In fact, all nine of the goals United have scored in pre-season were either scored or assisted by an academy graduate. Not a bad advert for the youth system.

Gomes has captained England at under-16, under-17 and under-18 level though he is eligible to play for Angola and Portugal through his father Gil, a Benfica youth product.

At the tender age of 16 years and 263 days, he made his United debut replacing all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney in the 89th minute of the final Premier League game of the 2016/17 season against Crystal Palace in front of a sold-out Old Trafford.

Image: PA

He's since made a further three appearances in the United first-team and his performances in pre-season should increase his involvement in 2019/20.

Speaking exclusively to SPORTbible in January, 2016 Gomes targeted being an established first-team player at United in five years time.

He said: "In five years time, I would like to be playing professionally for Manchester United. Winning titles is huge for me. I want to play international football, play in World Cups and European Championships. I want to be the best player at my age level.

"I set myself high standards and try to push myself to play at the highest level."

Topics: Spurs, Manchester United, International Champions Cup, tottenham, Pre-season, Angel Gomes, Man United

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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