United u21s suffer semi-finals exit but two midfielders stood out above the rest

Manchester United’s U21 side crashed out of the Premier League 2 play-offs with a defeat away to Manchester City in the semi-finals on Friday.

Here are our player ratings for the match. Read the detailed match report of all the action here.

(A score of 6 is around average)

Elyh Harrison – 5.5 – Wasn’t called into question to make many saves as City’s finishing was largely poor. Did well with his feet in the first half but started to make mistakes in the second half with a string of errant passes which went to the opposition or out of play.

Habeeb Ogunneye – 5.5 – Did decently well defending 1v1 and in the physical challenges but got dragged out of position at times and lost his bearings particularly when defending the back post which included for City’s first goal.

Louis Jackson – 5 – Allowed too much space in the box and ultimately lost his man during both of City’s goals.

Godwill Kukonki – 5 – Struggled with the strength and movement of Divin Mubama, losing the City striker on several occasions as he ran the channels. Played some good passes into midfield but looked slow and laborious under pressure, particularly when caught with the ball on his right foot.

Sam Murray – 6.5 – The most comfortable of the backline, he was tested early on by Lakyle Samuel and Matty Henderson-Hall but did very well to stop any crosses into the box and didn’t allow them to cut inside despite relentless attacks. Moved to right back late on and filled in commendably.

Jacob Devaney – 5.5 – Could have offered the backline some more protection, particularly in the central areas as City found open spaces in the box.

Tyler Fletcher – 6.5 – Provided a couple of nice crosses into the box as he drifted to the right which could have led to a goal and came close with a curling effort of his own. Linked well with his brother late on and in general was the best player at matching City with a good fight in midfield.

James Scanlon – 5 – Just didn’t get involved enough and wasn’t up to the physical task against an extremely athletic City side. Up against Stephen Mfuni who was stronger and faster, Scanlon was second best more often than not.

Sekou Kone – 6 – Was often involved in United’s best bits, especially when he was able to nip in and intercept the ball high up the pitch to create counter attacking opportunities that United largely had to settle for. But he struggled with City’s physicality as he was pushed around and couldn’t stamp his quality on the match consistently.

Ethan Williams – 5 – Had City’s backline scrambling early on with a couple of long balls over the top but opted for the same rushed ball over the top too often which conceded possession to City too easily and didn’t help United as they were pinned back.

Ethan Wheatley – 6 – Had to feed off scraps throughout the match and did really well with his hold-up play to create openings and get United up the pitch but just lacked the end product with his finishing to take advantage of his good work.

Substitutes

Gabriele Biancheri – 5.5 – Worked hard on the left wing to press the City players and won possession on a couple of occasions and did well holding up the ball but struggled to get involved a great deal.

Jack Fletcher – 6.5 – At the heart of United’s best play late on, he was the only player capable of taking the match to City through the centre of the pitch. He increased the tempo with quick intricate passing which unsettled City as United often played too slowly but ultimately couldn’t make the difference off the bench.

Tommy Rowe – N/A – Only on for the final minutes.

Feature image Ben Roberts photo via Getty Images

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