Tyrell Malacia returns to action with u21s but another defender impresses with strong display

Manchester United u21s fell to a strong Huddersfield Town side to be eliminated from the EFL Trophy.

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)

Dermot Mee – 5 – Couldn’t do much for some of the goals but more than conceding the goals, his biggest faults lay with the ball at his feet. Finishing with 44% pass completion sheds light on his poor distribution on the night which saw United under pressure straight from the back.

Habeeb Ogunneye—7—Possibly United’s strongest performer, he was up to the task physically and one of the few who could withstand challenges to maintain possession. This was key in the few times United was able to get up the pitch, including playing an important role before Musa’s goal when he won possession and then outmuscled his opponent to launch the attack. He was also decent defensively, although he may have been lucky not to have conceded a penalty.

Jack Kingdon—6.5—He had a good first half. He defended the box well for the majority of the match before, like the entire United side, falling off a bit towards the end. He struggled a bith, aerially, thoug against experienced forwards.

Tyler Fredricson – 6.5 – Similarly had a good opening hour making eight clearances and four tackles but the pressure was relentless by the end which caught him out of position a couple of times late in the match as he tired.

Tyrell Malacia – 7 – An impressive display on his return from injury and didn’t look like he hadn’t played in 17 months. Was very composed on the ball, which was a rarity on the night in a very sloppy United performance. Also put in a couple of perfectly timed tackles and read the game very well defensively. But did look a bit slow off the mark at times with a lack of explosiveness which can be expected.

Sekou Kone—6—It was a match of night and day for Kone. He started brightly with some very good touches on the ball but lost his way as the tempo of the match increased. A number of sloppy touches saw him cough up possession in dangerous areas, which led to him getting booked. He eventually had to come off in the 42nd minute after taking a heavy knock.

Tommy Rowe – 5.5 – Generally kept it pretty simple in possession and physically got stuck in but just doesn’t have the pace to sweep up attacks in behind and cover teammates which left them susceptible on the counter attack.

Ethan Ennis – 6.5 – Provided the assist for Musa with a clever nutmeg before providing the cutback. As usual, he caused trouble with his dribbling when he got the ball in advanced areas, but those occasions were just too few and far between.

Jayce Fitzgerald – 6 – He played a couple of good passes to switch the play but was generally safe in his passing and didn’t provide enough creative thrust in attacking areas while deployed in the 10 position.

Ethan Williams – 6 – Made a couple of nice passes through the lines in the first half but often found the recipient unable to hold up the ball, leading to attacks fizzling out.

Victor Musa – 6.5 – Took his goal really well with a clever backheel but struggled to hold up the ball in central areas and didn’t provide a focal point in attack, often drifting to wide areas and leaving the box with no United attackers.

Substitutes

Finley McAllister—7—McAllister displayed a good display off the bench. He often offered a much-needed outlet in midfield and looked one of the few United players capable of receiving and moving the ball under the pressure of Huddersfield. He also won possession four times and drew three fouls to help alleviate pressure at the back.

Harry Amass—5—In a poor display, Amass didn’t show his usual composure in possession and played some sloppy passes, which caused United to struggle to get the ball up field. He was also caught behind defensively a couple of times.

Ashton Missin – 6 – Didn’t really get to attack much but as always put in good effort up and down the wing.

Jack Moorhouse – 6 – Had a few touches through middle to open up space and looked like he could have potentially caused some danger but had limited time.

Sam Mather – 6 – Similarly has limited time in possession but did create a very nice opening down the left wing towards the end of the match.