Manchester United vs. City U21s Match Sees 3 Arrested After Crowd Trouble

One adult and two juveniles were arrested during Manchester United under-21s' 4-0 whooping of local rivals Manchester City on Tuesday night.

Mike Keegan of MailOnline reports that "an adult male and a juvenile were arrested for assault while another juvenile was arrested for invading the pitch." Greater Manchester Police, who were called by United, now seek CCTV footage provided by the club.

Fighting in the stands occurred as United youngster Ashley Fletcher netted the third with 10 minutes to go, as reported by Keegan. It is reported "punches were thrown" in a "cordoned off area between City supporters in the corner of the Sir Alex Ferguson stand with United fans to their right."

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Keegan tweeted a timeline of what he saw:

Amy Glendinning of the Manchester Evening News passed along a Vine of the pitch invader, originally posted by Alice McKeegan:

Keegan says United fans "charged toward the visitors" before stewards intervened and that "police wearing padded protection were seen to run up the touchline towards the players tunnel amid reports of problems outside."

At this stage, it is not known whether the arrested trio were of United or City persuasion.

Free entry produced an impressive attendance number, as reported by United's official Twitter account:

Goals from James Wilson, Adnan Januzaj, Fletcher and Matthew Willock scored a huge win over City for Warren Joyce's side, who are on the brink of capturing the under-21 title. United's development team are four points ahead of Liverpool with a game in hand, as reported by the Premier League. City, who have played two less games than United, are ninth in the 12-strong division.

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Getting a substantial crowd to reserve games is difficult enough, so these incidents are unlikely to help increase the number of people attending. Although Keegan suggests a "tiny minority" can be held responsible for the trouble, the crowd problems have gained more headlines than the result.

Old Trafford isn't renowned for such problems. Laurie Whitwell of the Daily Mail reported a flare being thrown from Liverpool fans and into the United crowd during the 2013 Capital One Cup tie, but such moments are isolated.

It remains to be seen whether the individuals involved will face punishment or, indeed, if either club is in line to be reprimanded.