Glad to be back, Lee? Carsley’s U21 return sees 10-man England lose eight-goal thriller as Man United target scores hat-trick for France and Harvey Elliott skies a penalty
If England needed a reminder of just how difficult it will be to defend their Under-21 European Championships title this summer they got it in full force in a 5-3 defeat by a star-studded France.
Lee Carsley, back in charge of the Under-21s having been in temporary charge of the seniors in the last camp, arrived in Lorient ready to see how this current crop fared against one of the world’s best talent generators.
What he saw was a topsy-turvy eight-goal thriller where Manchester United target Hugo Ekitike scored a hat-trick, Lyon’s Rayan Cherki ran the game with a goal and two assists and Harvey Elliott missed a penalty.
Carsley was bold in his selection, opting to switch to a 3-4-3 system with Elliot and James McAtee either side of Liam Delap in attack.
England’s front-foot approach paid off 95 seconds in when McAtee lashed in from inside the six-yard box after Delap’s initial header from the corner was parried on the line.
But this French team, which counts former Arsenal invincible Gael Clichy among its coaching staff, is stacked full of potential superstars and within five minutes they were leading.
Harvey Elliott misses from the penalty spot on a topsy-turvy night for the Liverpool starlet
Lyon’s Rayan Cherki (right) was supreme in running the game for France, providing two assists
It was a tricky return to England U21 duty for Lee Carsley after his spell with the senior team
Quentin Merlin drew the hosts level after shaking off a tame challenge from Alex Scott with a low driven finish.
Cherki, sublime here and the orchestrator of that Merlin goal, had his hand in the second when his long ball over the top picked out Ekitike who lifted nonchalantly over England goalkeeper James Beadle.
Cherki, who added a fifth late on, was so far ahead of his peers he was often reduced to walking pace and France’s fun continued when Ekitike back-heeled in from a couple of yards out to convert Wilson Odobert’s drilled cross to make it 3-1.
There was still time for a frantic first half to throw up even more drama when Elliott reduced the deficit by tapping in on the line after a header back across goal by McAtee.
England made sure they didn’t roll over in the second half with a header from a yard out from Delap following Ekitike’s hat-trick goal making it 4-3.
There was still time for Elliott to miss a penalty, Cherki to score France’s fifth and Omari Hutchinson to be sent off for England as this rollercoaster game eventually had to call it a night.
One thing is clear, Carsley departed with more questions than answers with the summer rapidly approaching.
