West Ham United had the honour of hosting some of the biggest names in European football at the Academy of Football over the weekend.
The West Ham International Cup saw the Under-16 sides from six clubs battle it out over two days of fantastic competition at Rush Green Stadium.
After picking up an impressive draw with Italian champions Juventus on Saturday afternoon, the Hammers suffered a 3-1 defeat against Belgian outfit Club Brugge later that evening before losing out to Spanish side Athletic Bilbao in the 5th/6th place play-off on Sunday morning.
It was Liverpool who came out on top overall, beating Juventus in the final on Sunday afternoon to take the trophy back to Merseyside.
The Hammers had a wealth of talent on show over the weekend, but they were without some key members of the side, including Reece Oxford and Tunji Akinola, who are preparing for Tuesday's FA Youth Cup tie at Southampton.
Before each fixture throughout the weekend, both teams posed for a mixed photograph to remember the World War One heroes as part of the Premier League's #FootballRemembers weekend.
The Hammers and Juventus line-up for a #FootballRemembers photo
Two pitches were used during the weekend. The first being inside the main arena, whilst a training pitch on the Rush Green site was also used for fixtures happening simultaneously.
The weekend opened on Saturday morning when Sam Shajhoud, Keanan Bennetts and David Ajiboye all got their names on the scoresheet as a dominant Tottenham Hotspur saw off Bilbao 4-1.
It was then time for the Hammers to face Juventus and the competition hosts started the brighter out of the two teams. Anthony Scully, who has recently returned from a long term injury, put the Hammers 1-0 up with a powerful effort into the top corner from 20 yards, before Gianmarco Scapin fired a low free-kick straight into the bottom corner of the net.
In game three, Spurs were looking to add to their earlier victory against Liverpool and it looked likely when Abdi Sharif was punished for a defensive mistake by Spurs' John Dizesni when the 14-year-old lashed a shot into the top corner. It was not to last, though, as Liverpool's Toni Gomes latched onto a lofted through ball to confidently finish into the net.
With Spurs then finished for the day after their two fixtures, the Hammers took part in their second game against Club Brugge. Brandon Baiye finished very well early into the game to give the Belgians the lead, before Conor Coventry's deflected effort pulled the Hammers level, only for second half goals from Senne Lynen and Ward Verwerft to secure Brugge a 3-1 victory.
The fifth game on Saturday afternoon saw Bilbao suffer a second defeat of the day when Liverpool came from behind to win 4-1. Keenan Mendibelzua kept his composure when through on goal to put the Spanish side ahead, before goals from Gomes, Paul Glatzel and Herbie Kane helped Liverpool end the day on a high.
With just one game left on the opening day, Juventus in their florescent green away kit faced Club Brugge in an equally colourful orange strip. Federico Mastropietro put the Old Lady ahead with a fantastic direct free-kick, before Fererico Naimo doubled their lead from close range. Jules Vanhaecke pulled one back in superb fashion before Mastropietro grabbed his second goal of the game to regain the two-goal lead. Two late goals from Scapin gave Juventus a 5-1 victory and took them directly into Sunday's final.
The second day of the event started with a penalty shootout between Spurs and Liverpool to decide who would face Juventus in the final, after both sides won 4-1 and drew 1-1 the previous day. Liverpool prevailed on penalties and to reach the final, whilst Spurs would have to settle with a tie against Brugge for 3rd/4th place.
With the fixtures then decided, West Ham suffered a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Bilbao on pitch two. David Nates put the Spanish side ahead with a deflected effort, before Idris Kanu (pictured) rounded Sergio Garcia to bring the Hammers back into the match. Second half goals from Benat Andonegui and Javier Rudy helped Los Leones to finish in fifth position, while the Hammers had to settle for sixth.
On pitch one at the same time, Tottenham shrugged aside the disappointment of losing the penalty shootout to win 3-1 against Brugge, meaning the Londoners finished in third place and the Belgians ended in fourth.
The competition ended with a thoroughly entertaining final between Juventus and Liverpool, with the Italians falling behind early on after Rhian Brewster played in Gomes to smash into the net. Both sides had several opportunities to secure the result throughout the rest of the match, but Liverpool managed to hold on to take the crown.
The match ended with Liverpool captain Kane and Juventus' Edouardo Bianchi being given straight red cards for an altercation after the Italians reacted to a bit of time-wasting in the final few minutes.
Despite the poor discipline at the end, the competition was enjoyed by all the teams and West Ham's Academy Director Terry Westley closed the tournament by thanking all teams for their participation and congratulating all for their performances.
West Ham United U16 squad: Tyler Forde, Matthew Campbell, Mason Barrett, Conor Coventry, Thomas Carlton, Ben Wells, Malyk Hamilton, Alfie Lewis, Idris Kanu, Anthony Scully, Joe Powell, Charlie Seaman, Mitchell Ware, Abdoulahi Diallo, Eliot Capel, Ben Johnson, Reece Hannam, Korrey Henry.