Rhys Bennett warns us he is drenched with champagne but he needn't have bothered. Standing next to him by the corner flag in front of the Old Trafford tunnel, he already reeks of it.
Bennett is 18, so legally allowed to drink. The diminutive Daniel Gore, 17, is clutching a can of apple pop. "Most of us are underage!" he laughs. "I think I'll be going home and just chilling." The after-party is strictly in the dressing room.
The stands are empty and the stewards are approaching the exits. The floodlights are still on and the unsung heroes behind the scenes at United, proudly dressed in club attire, assemble on the pitch for a celebratory shot with the Youth Cup.
READ MORE: United youth team give fans what they have been waiting for
Alejandro Garnacho is lingering, an Argentina flag draped around him, for an intimate photo with the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award. All that is missing is triumphant ticker tape.
Bennett, Gore, Sam Murray and Joe Hugill have re-emerged from the dressing room for a raw debrief. It has just about dawned on them they are the 11th victorious Manchester United Youth Cup-winning team.
Murray, 17, still stands in The Red Army section for home games and has enjoyed some away days this season. In the dying embers and the game lost, Nottingham Forest lost their temper and Murray relished the United aggro. "You've got to fight until the end, haven't you?" he says. "These lads, you grow up with them and we've got each other's backs.
"I've lived with quite a few of them for a few years and it means so much, we've got each other and that's what got us through in the end. We're such a good team together and have got the backing of everyone."
Captain Bennett put United ahead and is so drunk on euphoria he forgets to credit Murray's inviting inswinger. Murray is pleased his assist is mentioned: "I was just about to say, thanks for the mention, lad!" he ribs Bennett.
"It's the best feeling I've ever had in my life, genuinely," Bennett beams. "I can't even put it into words. It's one of those things. I dream of - scoring at Old Trafford. Even though I'm a defender, I love to get a goal if I can. It's the best feeling I've ever had in my life.
"I gave it the usual standard knee slide that I've done a couple of times this season, so that was all I've got in the bag, to be fair!"
The official attendance for the final was 67,492, larger than any Premier League game outside the 19 United have hosted this season. United had the benefit of playing at Old Trafford in the three previous rounds but the capacity increased more than tenfold against Forest.
"Whoa. you can't get better than this," Bennett marvels, looking at the surroundings. "70,000 at Old Trafford, I've dreamt of this since I was a little kid. The first day I joined this club, I thought, this is what dreams are made of, innit? I'm buzzing."
Every United Youth Cup-winning side has produced at least one player to play 50 times for the first team. "That's why you're here as a kid," Hugill explains, "you wanna play in the Man United first-team, so we've all got our aspirations of being there. Hopefully one of us, two of us, all of us, that's what we dream of. So hopefully, we can all get there together."
Hugill's introduction for Charlie McNeill midway through the second half at 1-1 was key, his pressing contributing to the penalty the referee was erroneously advised to give by his linesman for a foul on Garnacho.
"I had an idea, using the fresh legs to come on," Hugill says. "Coming on in the 67th minute, you know they're a bit tired, big pitch, you've just got to use the hard work that I do and get us up the pitch a bit more. Obviously, we got the two goals, so very happy with myself."
A banner was unfurled in the Stretford End at kick-off that read 'Class of 22'. Did any of the players see it? "I did," Hugill pipes up, "obviously, because I was on the bench! I had a little smile to myself, so it spurred me on a bit"
"I definitely saw it," Murray says. "I've been in the TRA quite a few times and you know how much it means to them and a lot of us players are fans. I support United myself and it's special from being in the crowd to being on the pitch, it's special for all of us.
"They're all die-hard Reds and you know how much it means. You've got to give what you give in the crowd what you give on the pitch, because they've got so much passion for the club and if we can replicate that, I'm sure we'll do very well and go far.
"Walking out, it's crazy. As a kid, I watched YouTube videos of behind the scenes and stuff, and then you're actually in the moment yourself. It's magical, there are not many words that can describe it."
"I think we were all confident because we knew what we had to do but, obviously, it gees you on to want to play well and work hard," Gore says of the support. "It was a difficult game and we had to battle through it but the lads were class and we deserved to win in the end."
Garnacho, the poster boy of the team, crowned his Youth Cup run with the winning penalty and then a second goal, increasing his tournament tally to seven goals in six games. Hugill, a polished penalty taker, stepped aside for Amad Diallo on his Under-23 debut at Liverpool last year and did so again. "Obviously, he (Garnacho)'s a good player himself, good at taking pens, so you've got to let him take it!"
Hugill highlighted Cristiano Ronaldo's influence on the academy talents two weeks ago and Garnacho's goals and celebrations were a tribute to the game's greatest goalscorer. "Obviously, he's the best player in the world, in my opinion," Hugill remarks. "He helps us a lot, going over to train with them as well, there's no better person to look up to, especially being a striker myself, looking at how he scores goals, all sorts of different types: long, short, headers. He evolves your game."
Gore leaves opponents chasing shadows but seemed frightened of his own on the media day at Carrington a fortnight earlier. On this occasion, he is bubblier without touching the bubbly: "To win this historic trophy in front of these fans obviously means a lot to everyone and, honestly, words can't describe what the feeling is like."
The academy head, Nick Cox, was struck by the celebratory scenes at the final whistle. "As the kids are running across the pitch I'm looking and I'm seeing the Under-23s, too old for the competition, there, with their mates racing across the pitch as well. That was amazing. That was a group of mates, that was a group of kids, living out their dreams tonight, that was what that was."
"The best thing about it - I've said it previously - we've done it together," Bennett stresses. "We've done it as a team, no one's an individual. We've gone down twice, conceded first (in previous rounds) and every single one of them has dug deep, put it into the last minute and I'm just so proud of all of them and every single one of them has deserved it."
They then shake hands and stride back down the tunnel to pop some more corks. Or crack open a fizzy drink.
