Photos: Borini double sinks Man United
Two brilliantly executed goals from Fabio Borini helped Liverpool U21s to a memorable 4-2 victory over rivals Manchester United at the Salford City Stadium on Monday night.
The Italian striker was named in a strong starting XI by Alex Inglethorpe, which included Martin Kelly and Jordon Ibe alongside the likes of Adam Morgan, Jack Dunn and Jordan Rossiter.
The Reds fell behind to a Larnell Cole strike early on; however, they hit three in quick succession - the third a sublime Borini free-kick - to edge 3-1 ahead.
Jesse Lingard netted for the home side just before half-time, but Borini took matters into his own hands to round Ben Amos in the 79th minute and roll the ball home from a tight angle to seal the win.
United went ahead on seven minutes when Cole's initial shot was blocked on the line by Joe Maguire, but the striker was on hand to fire the ball home on the rebound and open the scoring.
Inglethorpe's side bounced back immediately. Ibe exchanged passes with Borini, powered his way through the heart of United's defence, opened his body and curled home past the 'keeper to level.
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The Reds were desperately unlucky not to take the lead when Dunn smashed the woodwork after pouncing on a mistake at the back, sprinting through on goal and curling onto the bar.
But Adam Morgan, who just loves to find the back of the net against United, made amends on his teammate's behalf by seizing on a mistake from Will Keane to whip an effort beyond Amos and into the far corner.
Then, after Dunn was hacked to the ground on the edge of the box, Borini stepped up to send a swerving free-kick down the middle of the goal for 3-1.
United pulled one back when Adnan Januzaj fed Cole, who found Lingard and he stroked the ball beyond Danny Ward for 3-2 on 35 minutes.
The Reds were solid throughout the second half with Rossiter and Craig Roddan providing steel in the midfield.
Then, with just over 10 minutes remaining, Borini latched onto a loose back-pass, rounded Amos and rolled the ball home from a difficult angle to seal the win Liverpool deserved.
The Reds team in full: Ward, McLaughlin, Maguire, Jones, Kelly (c), Rossiter, Morgan, Roddan, Borini, Dunn, Ibe.