Chelsea youth team win Next Generation cup; Reliance Foundation Young Champs beat Manchester United in final game

Mumbai: It was a day of significance for Indian football as Reliance Foundation Young Champs overcame Manchester United FC in the final of the PL-ISL Next Generation Mumbai Cup at the Reliance Corporate Park Football Ground in Navi Mumbai. [caption id=“attachment_8099541” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chelsea FC U-14 players celebrate after winning the tournament. Twitter@PLforIndia[/caption] Both the teams began the game at a good tempo, and moved the ball around swiftly in midfield. The Young Champs looked to be more assertive and forced their counterparts from United to lose possession at times. Supratim Das initiated a few incisive moves through his passes and put the away team’s backline is a spot of bother. James Nolan, United’s right-back, was a sturdy figure in the defense and he made some important interceptions to win the ball back for his team. The boys from RFYC increased the intensity as the game progressed and created multiple goal-scoring opportunities. Rashid CK, who had been instrumental from the beginning, scored the first goal of the match as he took an accurate shot from the corner of the box. United immediately responded as Tomas Jones deftly put the ball in the back of the net. However, the forward was subsequently found to be in an offside position and hence that goal was ruled out. The Reliance Foundation Young Champs nearly doubled their lead but Chingangbam Shivaldo Singh’s header from a free-kick missed hitting the goalpost by a very small margin. Harsh Palande came on the pitch as a substitute and made positive runs through the flanks on a couple of occasions. United tried their best to level the scores and the likes of Ruben Curley and Ethan Wheatley played a key role in trying to conceive a comeback for their team. However, the home team managed to hold on to their lead and in the process, secured the win. Chelsea’s youth team was declared the champions of the PL-ISL Next Generation Mumbai Cup 2020. The ‘Young Blues’ won all five of their matches and concluded their campaign with a 4-0 victory against Bengaluru FC. Manchester United finished second in the points table whilst RFYC cemented third place with this victory.