Carrick has missed a trick by not trusting 18yo attacker who starred for United U21s in their play-off win

Manchester United Under-21s secured victory over Sunderland today to advance to the quarter-finals of the Premier League 2 play-offs. 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 – Made a couple of big saves and could not do much for the goals. He was good on the ball and almost had a pre-assist with a clever quick release to Musa down the left wing. Jaydan Kamason – 6.5 – In his first appearance since early February, he understandably was shaking off the cobwebs and did not get up and down the wing as often as he usually would, but still showed glimpses of what he can do, including a very nice diagonal switching ball. Sonny Aljofree – 7.5 – Led not just with the captain’s armband but through his performance as well. He made an important clearance off the goal line early on and kept that performance up throughout the match with a number of good clearances. At the other end, he could have got his name on the scoresheet, proving a handful for the Sunderland defenders. Dan Armer – 6.5 – His confidence on the ball was too casual when he turned the ball over for Sunderland’s first goal. However, apart from the mistake, he had a solid performance at the back. Godwill Kukonki – 7 – Looked like he could struggle with the pace of the Sunderland winger early on, but recovered well and was a wall in one-v-one situations, getting tight and using his strength. Tyler Fletcher – 7.5 – At times in the early stages, he was a one-man midfield, mopping up in front of the backline with tackles and interceptions, but also covering an immense amount of ground. His high pressing caused the turnover leading to United’s third goal. He was unlucky to slip in the build-up for Sunderland’s second. Jack Moorhouse – 6.5 – A key figure in United’s first two goals, he launched both counter-attacks with his quick dribbling through central areas. However, playing in a deeper number eight role in midfield, his defensive coverage was inconsistent, which allowed Sunderland to carve through the middle far too easily. Shea Lacey – 8 – He never looked like he really got out of second gear, often slowing the play down and passing backwards. However, when he went for it, no defender could get near him as he twisted inside and out. He was unfortunate to come away with only one goal, as he could have easily had two or three if not for some save-of-the-season contenders from Isaac Allan. Jack Fletcher – 7 – Took his goal well and was dangerous with incisive and intricate passing going forward. However, he could have imposed himself more on the match and looked to do so more in the second half as he dropped deeper. Victor Musa – 7 – He was not involved much in the first half but grew into the match in the second, and when he did get involved, he produced pinpoint crosses into the box, which he was unfortunate not to get an assist out of. Chido Obi – 7.5 – Took his goal clinically to give United the lead early on and set the tone with his pressing from the front. He was nearly rewarded for those efforts but for a marvellous save to deny his second. Substitutes Jim Thwaites – 6 – Offered a lot of hard running in midfield but never really got a hold of the play. Yuel Helafu – 6.5 – Went on a couple of exceptional runs forward, which alleviated pressure at the back late on when Sunderland were pushing for an equaliser. Samuel Lusale – 6.5 – Added a lot of pace and running down the right wing, which helped retain possession and see out the match. Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Colm Murphy A football obsessed Canadian who moved to England to enjoy the beautiful game. Colm has been keen follower of Manchester United’s famed academy since seeing a fresh faced Adnan Januzaj for the club’s u18s and has been writing about football with a focus on youth development for over 10 years. You can follow him X: RedYouthUnited.