Man Utd youngster Chido Obi delivered an excellent performance in the U18s’ win against Manchester City on Saturday.

Manchester United are happy with Chido Obi’s development in the academy this season. Obi scored his ninth goal of the campaign for the Under-18s in a 3-1 win against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.

Obi impressed during the game with his out-of-possession work. It’s understood that staff were delighted with Obi’s display and believed his off-the-ball work was some of his finest of the season.

The 18-year-old’s pressure helped to force City into a mistake for the opening goal of the match, and Obi extended the advantage with seven minutes remaining with an excellent strike.

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Obi has exclusively played in academy fixtures this term. United fast-tracked Obi after his arrival from Arsenal, and he made seven first-team appearances in the second half of last season, but the decision was made before 2025/26 to allow Obi to develop in youth games away from the spotlight.

United staff have been keen to allow Obi to continue learning in academy games. There have been fewer first-team matches due to early cup exits, and Obi has benefited from that decision.

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The Dane dropped down to U18 level for the first time in 11 months when he started against Derby County in the FA Youth Cup last month. The Youth Cup is for players who are under the age of 18 on August 31 of the current campaign. Obi celebrated his 18th birthday in November, making him eligible.

The U18s take on Oxford in the fifth round of the Youth Cup on Wednesday and Obi is set to be involved. Obi fired the U18s to the last four of the Youth Cup last season, scoring seven goals in just four matches, but he was marked out of the semi-finals by eventual winners Aston Villa.

In September, Travis Binnion told the Manchester Evening News: “It’s not easy for him because people look at him like he’s a big kid. The key thing there is he’s still very young, he’s still learning his game.

“Because he’s had exposure with the first-team, I think people expect performance levels that are really consistent and really high. You’ve got first-team players across the country who don’t do that.

“The expectation on him is high, but he has to deliver the basics, and what he did from minute 30 to 80 when he came off is he pressed, he ran and he occupied two centre halves to give other players space on the pitch to exploit, which is why we dominated the ball.

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“I’m really pleased with him and we haven’t even scraped the top of the iceberg with him. He’s got loads to come. That will come from how he sees the game, keeps working hard and recognises he has stuff to develop because that’s always a challenge when you have that first-team exposure and then you go away and have to start working on things.”

Binnion continued: “When you score as many goals as he has throughout his relatively short life, you can define yourself by goals. And we all know there’s probably only two or three strikers in the world who get two goals in every three games.

“If you’re used to scoring two goals in every game, then recognising what the role is, how you have to go around it takes a little bit of time. He is dying to be a footballer.

“He is hungry. And he’s still learning the game, learning how to project himself and learning how to play within a team, the club’s shape and system, so there’s still lots for him to do. The key is he wants to play, he wants to do well and wants to train. He could train every day if he could.”

Balkan brothers Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic reunited on Saturday during the All-Star Game practice and media day. Jokic even greeted Doncic with banter in the locker room before the activities for the day. The three-time MVP poked fun at Doncic’s weight issues as a joke.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the NBA shared a video of Jokic’s arrival at the Intuit Dome on Saturday. He was greeted by Doncic, who was initially sitting in his locker room. The two dapped up and hugged each other, but “The Joker” lived up to his moniker.

“Look how fat you’ve gotten,” Jokic quipped.

Luka Doncic’s weight issues are well-documented, with the Dallas Mavericks trading him last year because of his bad conditioning. But for Nikola Jokic, someone who also had issues about his weight early in his career, it was just perfect banter between two of the best players in the world today.

They were also too chill during the photoshoot with all the members of Team World. Doncic was sitting beside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray, with Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama in the back.

“The Joker” then slapped the back of Doncic’s neck like a big brother messing with his younger brother. Doncic tried to get back by hitting Jokic below the belt, as Murray laughed at the playfulness of both players.

Luka Doncic responds to Kevin Durant’s claims about him and Nikola Jokic

While the NBA All-Star Game has lost its luster over the years due to the efforts of players, Kevin Durant sparked a debate that could lead to a competitive game on Sunday. Durant put the blame on Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic for their nonchalant play during the midseason event.

“You should ask the Europeans and the World team if they’re going to compete,” Durant said. “If you look at Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic now, let’s go back and look at what they do in the All-Star Game. Is that competition? So, we haven’t questioned what they’ve been doing. But we’re going to question the old heads, and the Americans.”

Of course, Doncic was asked about KD’s comments, and he fired back at the Houston Rockets superstar.

“It was the same when I played in my first All-Star game, so I don’t know why KD mentioned me and Jokic,” Doncic said. “But I think we’ll see a more competitive game this year with the World vs. USA format.”

KD seems to know what he was doing by mentioning Doncic and Jokic. Maybe it could spark a good game that could revitalize the NBA All-Star Game.