Manchester United Under-21s continued their strong start to the season with another convincing victory as they breezed past Leicester City Under-21s with a 4-1 win.
These are our player ratings for the match. You can read a detailed match report here.
(A score of six is around average.)
Ratings
Will Murdock – 6.5 – Had little to do but made one good save when called into action and played a couple of accurate long balls.
Jaydan Kamason – 8 – Firmly back to his best, he was everywhere on the right wing, charging up and down with good deliveries into the box and sweeping up tackles with ease the rare times Leicester ventured into United’s half.
Reece Munro – 6.5 – It was a comfortable performance for the most part, but he should have been more alert to the quick corner that led to Leicester’s goal and needed to command his area at the back post.
Dan Armer – 7 – He did well in the first half defending on the front foot, stepping up early to challenge the Leicester forwards before they could even get out of their own half. However, his lack of recovery pace almost let Leicester back in early in the second half when the space in behind was exploited.
Bendito Mantato – 7 – In his first appearance since March, it was a comfortable showing without flying up and down the wing too much. He combined more with Missin early on and kept it simple with quick passing.
Tyler Fletcher – 8 – A dominant performance in the centre of the park, he never allowed Leicester to get a hold of possession in the central areas, which was key to pinning them back. He mopped up loose balls and fed the ball into the attack with quick, incisive passes.
Jim Thwaites – 7.5 – He continues to improve the defensive side of his game with constant harrying in the midfield and putting his weight into challenges. On the ball, he found the space on the wings with a good range of passing and had a couple of decent attempts on goal.
Shea Lacey – 8.5 – A cut above the rest, it looked easy at times as he glided past his marker and scored two goals. It was easy to see why he has been involved with the first team recently.
Jack Fletcher – 7.5 – He was one of the leaders of the high press as he stepped forward to force mistakes from the Leicester backline and finished with an assist.
Ashton Missin – 8 – He made a fantastic 50-yard run to open the play for Lacey’s second goal and nearly had a goal of his own after another mesmerising dribble. He was a constant threat on the left wing as he ran with pace and pinned Leicester back with relentless pressing. Unfortunately, he was forced off with an injury prior to half-time.
Amir Ibragimov – 7.5 – Playing out of position as a striker, he cut an isolated figure at times as the wingers preferred to cut inside, but on one of the rare occasions the ball was delivered into the box he scored. As a result, he moved out of position often to get involved in the build-up, but it meant there was not a focal point in the area.
Substitutes
Tynan Thompson – 7.5 – He mainly came alive when he got the ball played to his feet and showed some versatility by beating his man on the outside as well as cutting in. He finished with two assists as he did well to pick out Ibragimov and Gabriel on both occasions.
JJ Gabriel – 7.5 – He had a challenge early on as Leicester congested the central areas and he faced a number of physical challenges. But despite getting knocked down, he kept running at them and it proved fruitful when he spun past one defender and skipped past another to score a goal late on.
Godwill Kukonki – 6 – He made one good run down the left wing. Albert Mills – 6 – He played a couple of nice passes into midfield and was not troubled defensively.
Victor Musa – 6 – He did not get involved much as United were in cruise control by the end.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
