Michael Carrick heaped praise on Manchester United's young guns after they stole the show in Friday's 5-0 win over Rosenborg at Lerkendal Stadion. 

Carrick named a relatively strong side for the second pre-season friendly, with the likes of Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Luke Shaw, Andrey Santos and Mason Mount all featuring.

But it was the Red Devils' youngsters who impressed, with Shea Lacey, Jacob Devaney, Harry Amass and Ethan Williams all joining Joshua Zirkzee on the scoresheet.

Zirkzee (25) was the only United goalscorer older than 20, with three of those who found the net – Lacey, Devaney and Amass – all being 19 years of age.

Full-backs Jaydan Kamason and Amass were both introduced at the break and managed four goal contributions between them (two assists for Kamason, one goal and one assist for Amass). 

Eight more youngsters followed on the hour mark, with Fletcher twins Jack and Tyler catching the eye in midfield, and Carrick was thrilled with their contribution to the contest. 

"That's the best place to be as a footballer, when you're in that zone, and you're confident, and that's my job to try and get the players in that frame of mind," said Carrick.

"The senior players at this stage, are finding their way, but you can see they're in a good place and getting used to having good results over a period of time, which is good.

"And the younger players, when you see them expressing themselves and being themselves and keep pushing themselves to be better, I think some of the play in the second half was really, really good, and I was delighted to see that from them.

"They've all got potential in different ways, and you want them to fulfil it and keep pushing themselves, and they certainly did that."

The victory marked the first of United's pre-season preparations, following their 1-0 defeat to Championship side Wrexham last week. 

Carrick's side have four more games before their domestic campaign kicks off, with clashes against Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds United and AC Milan to come.

The United boss said the key now for his squad is to stay patient, injury-free and keep building up back at Carrington, with the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha all set to return soon. 

"I think we're in a good place," Carrick added. "There are four weeks to go until the start, and gradually getting some boys back from the World Cup as we progress.

"But I think a little bit of patience and time and trying to keep ahead, and as I say, keeping everyone fit.

"But moving forward is a really good direction to go in, and as it stands right now, I think we're in a pretty good place, so the boys will get better as we go."

Carrick was also pleased with the performance of goalkeeper Radek Vitek, who had revealed recently that he intends to leave Old Trafford in search of first-team football. 

Vitek spent the 2025-26 season on loan with Bristol City and kept 12 clean sheets in 41 league appearances, a total only bettered by Carl Rushworth (17), Christian Walton (16), Ivor Pandur and Sol Brynn (both 14) in the Championship. 

"Radek got good minutes. Just over 70, so really, really pleased with what he did today," Carrick said. 

"And Dermot coming on and towards the end was nice to get him on the pitch, so I thought we defended pretty well as a team for the most part.

"A couple of little bits earlier on that we had to work out, but I thought we defended well as a team and protected the goalkeepers largely. Clean sheets is a beautiful thing."