Kolkata: It was a feeling of déjà vu for Manchester United winger Angel Gomes. The youngster scored a goal from free kick against Chile after coming in as a substitute for the Young Lions today at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday. The 17-year-old scored from a free kick against CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Youth League last month. The youngster came into the tournament on the back of good form scoring in both UEFA Youth League fixtures against Basel and CSKA Moscow.
His effort in the win over Basel came from the penalty spot and he followed it up with two late spot-kicks to earn a dramatic 4-3 triumph over Arsenal in the Under-18 Premier League Cup.
On being asked to relate the two goals, Gomes said, “I knew that. It could have been my only chance to score in the match. I just made sure I got the shot on target.”
The United footballer was not fielded in the first XI by Coach Steve Cooper. Later at the post-match press conference, coach Steve Cooper was asked why Gomes was not handed a start.
“We have 21 players that we feel could play the level we want them to play. Tournament football is all about utilising th squad which showed today with the changes we made. This was a good example of using 14 of the 21 players we got,” Cooper said.
Majority of the 47000 odd crowds in the Salt Lake Stadium chanted for the Young Lions. The England players acknowledged the crowds for their cheer after the match. The entire team later presented a bouquet and a flag to the State Sports Minister Aroop Biswas.
“The crowd made it lot easier for us. It was like an amazing experience to be playing in front of such a huge crowd. We got a feeling of playing a world cup,” said Gomes on the crowd support they received today.