Report: England MU21s 9-1 Serbia

England men’s under-21s romped to a remarkable 9-1 EURO qualifying win over Serbia to equal their biggest-ever goal tally in a single game.

After a hatful of early chances went begging, England trailed after Vladimir Lucic’s stunning effort but responded with three goals in nine minutes from Jaden Philogene, Liam Delap and Harvey Elliott to establish a healthy half-time lead.

They continued to lay siege to the Serbia goal after the break and sealed their second qualifying win with two goals from Noni Madueke and another from Philogene.

Lee Carsley’s side then added an extra gloss to the scoreline late on, with an own goal, one for substitute Jonathan Rowe and Elliott’s second, marking an incredible night at the City Ground.

England started with an intensity which Serbia struggled to contain, but the goal just would not come for the hosts.

Philogene was the first to go close, with his deflected effort forcing a sensational diving stop from Serbia stopper Veljko Ilic.

Ilic continued to be England’s nemesis throughout a frustrating opening half hour, denying Elliott from the edge of the box and then Philogene from point-blank range after Charlie Cresswell headed wide from six yards out.

Noni Madueke then scuffed wide before Serbia struck a killer blow on the break.

Aljosa Vasic dashed away down Serbia’s left and his low ball across the box was beautifully cushioned into the top corner of the net by Lucic, ending James Trafford’s run of seven Under-21s matches without conceding.

It took England a few minutes to rediscover their rhythm, but they were soon troubling Ilic again, with Delap denied after being played in by Madueke.

But it was a mistake from the keeper which gifted England an equaliser, as Philogene pounced on his misplaced pass before racing into the box and firing into the top corner.

Philogene was then the provider for England’s second just four minutes later, reacting quickest to a Cole Palmer saved shot and teeing up Delap for a simple finish from close range.

A third goal then arrived in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time, as Elliott thrust an effort into the roof of the net from the edge of the area in spectacular fashion.

England picked up where they left off, with Madueke drilling through bodies and past Ilic for a fourth goal on 53 minutes.

A deft flick round the corner from Rico Lewis then presented Madueke with an opportunity to grab his second and he duly obliged, passing the ball into the bottom corner on the hour mark.

England were running riot by this point and scored a sixth just two minutes later.

Lewis again played a key part, sliding in Delap as the Serbia defence stepped up to leave half the pitch unattended.

The striker could have taken the shot himself but selflessly squared to Philogene who tapped into an empty net.

Both of England’s two-goal heroes then left the field to a standing ovation from a home crowd who knew they had witnessed a truly breath-taking show of attacking football.

Their departure did not spell the end of England’s intent, however, with Elliott striking the crossbar before a mix-up from the resulting goal kick saw Mitar Ergelas strike against fellow defender Luka Subotic which forced the ball to loop over a helpless Ilic.

Rowe then added an eighth with his first Under-21s goal before Elliott grabbed his second as England reached nine, equalling the record number of goals scored in the 9-0 win over San Marino in 2013.

Carsley’s side are back in action on Monday afternoon, playing Ukraine in Slovakia in their third qualifying match.

England: 1 James Trafford (Burnley), 2 Rico Lewis (Manchester City), 3 Bashir Humphreys (Swansea City on loan from Chelsea), 4 Charlie Cresswell (Leeds United), 5 Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), 6 Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough), 9 Liam Delap (Hull City on loan from Manchester City), 10 Cole Palmer (Chelsea), 11 Noni Madueke (Chelsea), 19 Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), 23 Jaden Philogene (Hull City)

Substitutes: 20 Tino Livramento (Newcastle United) for Palmer 52’, 18 Jonathan Rowe (Norwich City) for Delap 68’, 7 James McAtee (Sheffield United on loan from Manchester City) for Philogene 68’, 21 Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Borussia Dortmund) for Madueke 68’, 16 Jarell Quansah for Branthwaite 77’

Substitutes not used: 8 Charlie Patino (Swansea City on loan from Arsenal), 13 James Beadle (Oxford United on loan from Brighton), 14 Aaron Ramsey (Burnley), 17 Samuel Iling-Junior (Juventus)

Goals: Jaden Philogene 38’, 63’, Liam Delap 42’, Harvey Elliott 45+6, 90+1, Noni Madueke 53’, 59’, Subotic OG 86’, Jonathan Rowe 89

Serbia: 23 Veljko Ilic, 2 Viktor Rogan, 3 Mihajlo Ilic, 7 Stefan Mitrovic, 8 Mihailo Stevanovic, 9 Marko Lazetic, 11 Vladimir Lucic, 15 Luka Subotic, 20 Aljosa Vasic, 21 Nikola Stankovic, 22 Mitar Ergelas

Substitutes: 10 Igor Miladinovic for Vasic 58’, 17 Milos Pantovic for Lazetic 58’, 18 Jovan Lukic for Stankovic 66’, 6 Aleksa Matic for Stevanovic 84’, 19 Nikola Jojic for Lucic 84’

Substitutes not used: 12 Andrija Katic, 4 David Petrovic, 5 Uros Drezgic, 14 Uros Lazic

Goals: Lucic 27’

Bookings: Lazetic 6’, Rogan 45+2, Mihajlo Ilic 58’