On Tuesday evening, Tom Huddlestone rolled back the years to produce a brilliant late assist for Manchester United’s Under 21 side.
Earlier this month, Huddlestone wowed United fans by producing a wonderful assist for Alejandro Garnacho against Barrow in the Papa John’s Trophy. On Tuesday night, the 36-year-old was in fine form as his side took on Fleetwood Town.
As the match reached stoppage time, United were trailing by two goals to one. However, Huddlestone then played an inch-perfect, defence-splitting pass right into the path of Shola Shoretire, who finished expertly to draw the Red Devils level. You can watch the footage below.
Fans were quick to react to Huddlestone’s moment of magic on social media, comparing him with some of the current first-team stars.
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One fan said: “Huddlestone is better than Fred.”
Another tweeted: “Tom Huddlestone > Bruno Fernandes.”
A third fan added: “Can we promote Huddlestone to the first team?”
As the game ended in a 2-2 draw, a penalty shootout followed, which was won by Fleetwood. However, despite losing, United still finished top of their group and are through to the next round of the competition.
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Huddlestone was appointed a player-coach in the summer and he spoke about how his move to United came about earlier in the month during an appearance on Soccer AM.
The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder said: “It was quite random to be fair. Paul McShane, who I played with at Hull, did the role last year before retiring.
“He then put my name forward and it was midway through pre-season when I got the phone call (offering me the job).”
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Huddlestone added: “The first week (in the job) the first team was away so there were no eyes on me or any pressure like that. It's a big old building so I was saying to Macca (McShane) 'I'm just going to shadow you for the first week'.
“But the five or six coaches I'm working with daily are top-notch and really helpful for me, coming from that playing side into a sort of hybrid role.”
Topics: Manchester United
Marcus Chan