Shea Lacey excels for the U21s but this 18yo showed exactly what the United first team are missing

Manchester United remain top of the Premier League 2 table after a 2-2 draw away to second-placed Fulham. This is our player ratings for the match, while you can read a detailed match report of all the action here. (A score of six is around average) Ratings Will Murdock – 6.5 – Made three saves on the night, with the best of the lot coming in the first half when he tipped away Tom Wingate’s header at full stretch. He will feel like he could have done better for Farhan Ali Wahid’s second goal, though, having got his hand to it. Jaydan Kamason – 6.5 – He supported Lacey well on the right wing and was solid defensively. Reece Munro – 6 – Showed good recovery speed but mistimed his positioning at times, opting to step out from the back at the wrong time and leaving a gap. Sonny Aljofree – 7 – Recalled from his loan spell at Notts County, there was a clear sense of experience in his play. He did not panic under pressure and never rushed clearances, instead taking the ball under pressure with composure and distributing it out from the back. He also defended well aerially in the box. Diego Leon – 6 – A performance of two halves; he was good going forward and showed good weight of pass with his through balls. On the other side, he had trouble tracking the wingers running in behind and let them get the better of him for their second goal. Jacob Devaney – 8.5 – A real captain’s performance, he showed up everywhere on the pitch. At the back, he did well to cover his teammates, making recovery challenges on both the left and right side of the pitch. His ability to cover ground was exemplified when he got to the byline to put in a cross before sprinting back to his own half before Fulham could launch their counter-attack. On the ball, he played a spectacular pass to assist Lacey for his second goal and constantly made runs through the lines that were a nightmare for Fulham to defend. Tyler Fletcher – 7 – Always offered himself as an option on the ball at the base of United’s midfield, which helped United control possession. Oftentimes he just kept it simple with quick, short passes to keep the play ticking over but also showed a good level of creativity with some defence-splitting passes. Shea Lacey – 9 – A class above on the pitch, it was evident every time he touched the ball. He was sent a number of balls to chase into the corner and he came out of it beating his man every time. He did well to win a penalty, which he dispatched, and then shifted to the left side where he ran in behind to score his second. Came close to scoring a hat-trick with a second-half attempt that cannoned off the crossbar in near identical fashion to his effort for the first team against Burnley. Jayce Fitzgerald – 7.5 – Consistently found spaces between the lines to pick up the ball in front of Fulham’s backline. Had a couple of near chances with shots from outside the box and threatened with his driving runs through midfield, which opened up space. Malachi Sharpe – 6.5 – Had the beating of his man for pace every time and timed his runs in behind well, but just did not have the end product, whether it was his shooting or when looking for a teammate in the box. Gabriele Biancheri – 6.5 – As usual, he showed good hold-up play but did not get much of a sniff in front of goal until late on when his effort fly just over the crossbar. Substitutes Dan Armer – 5.5 – Struggled a bit with the speed of Fulham’s attack. James Scanlon – 5.5 – Got into good positions and beat his man but lacked the speed to fully take advantage. Had a good chance late on but it went begging after a heavy touch. Chido Obi – 5.5 – Never really got involved up top. Yuel Helafu – 6 – He was comfortable in possession and made one strong tackle. Feature image Lewis Storey 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.