Liverpool U18s were left lamenting what might have been on Saturday, after Manchester City rocked the young Reds with two late strikes to clinch a dramatic 3-2 win.

Neil Critchley's side trailed to an early Jorge Intima strike at Platt Lane; however, they mustered a quick-fire comeback of their own moments after the restart to edge in front.

Alex O'Hanlon levelled the scores in the 49th minute when he rounded the 'keeper and tapped home - and seconds later, Daniel Trickett-Smith weighed in with a neat finish to turn the game on its head.

However, Jason Wilcox's side, who today extend their lead at the top of the Barclays U18 Premier League North group, left it late to stage a remarkable fightback.

They grabbed an equaliser in the final minute of normal time through Angelino, before Intima scrambled home a dramatic winner in the dying seconds.

"It was a cruel way to end a game of football, but it doesn't change how proud I am of our performance and the way the lads played," Critchley reflected.

"City had a lot of the ball in the second half after we scored twice to take the lead - and I thought we'd done enough to clinch the win, but then that happened at the end.

"It was tough to take, but the boys played very well and we'll move on from this."

Liverpool U18s: Crump, Waldron, Hart, Cleary, Brewitt, Burke, O'Hanlon, Ojo, Marsh, Wilson, Trickett-Smith.