Man Utd 2-0 Leeds: Full player ratings as Mason Mount makes unofficial Red Devils debut
Manchester United got their pre-season off to a winning start thanks to a 2-0 victory over Championship side Leeds United in Norway.
Erik ten Hag went as full strength as possible in the first half with Mason Mount getting his first taste of action in a Man Utd shirt, joined in the starting XI by the likes of Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jadon Sancho.
The Red Devils couldn’t find the breakthrough and a completely new XI came out after half time, including Brendan Williams and Charlie Savage. Eventually, Man Utd did take the lead through Frenchman Noam Emeran and Joe Hugill completed the scoring in the final 10 minutes.
Here’s how the players rated at Ullevaal Stadium:
Manchester United
Tom Heaton – 6 – Didn’t really have anything to do. There was a mix up with Wan-Bissaka in the opening minutes that could have caused problems but it was dealt with.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7 – It was his heavy touch that could have put Man Utd in trouble early on but between him and Heaton it was sorted. Once the cobwebs were off, this was a standard Wan-Bissaka defensive performance, doing well even as Leeds favoured his flank.
Raphael Varane – 6 – Caught out with a good ball around him after pushing up to try and break Leeds’ line with a pass of his own, but otherwise untroubled.
Lisandro Martinez – 7 – Stopped a couple of promising Leeds attacks with his defensive awareness, first putting pressure on a ball into box that was heading towards Greenwood before an interception later in the half.
Alvaro Fernandez – 6 – Headed wide from corner midway through first half in what was his only real contribution to the game as Man Utd focused elsewhere.
Kobbie Mainoo – 8 – Looked really composed in the midfield, one of the stars of the first half.
Hannibal Mejbri – 8 – Had the first real opportunity of the game, but his shot was a bit too close to the goalkeeper. Produced a great tackle on Poveda when he looked like scoring, really good.
Amad Diallo – 8 – Ran the show for Man Utd in the first half and showed how he planned to take the game by winning a foul in a dangerous position inside the opening minute. Played on the shoulder of the last defender, always ready to break Leeds’ high line. Dangerous with good feet, was just missing the killer finishing touch.
Mason Mount – 6 – Pushed up in line with the attack and pressed a lot, winning the ball high up to produce a chance for himself but he tried to chip the goalkeeper and sent his shot over. On set piece duty but didn’t really find his range.
Omari Forson – 5 – Not as involved in the game as the rest of his attacking teammates but that wasn’t really his fault.
Jadon Sancho – 5 – Playing the False No.9, Sancho couldn’t really get into the game and a missed first touch inside the box failed to punish a Leeds mistake. Did have a good moment to link up with Diallo later in the half, but that was about it. It will all be about finding fitness and happiness for Sancho in pre-season, though.
Substitutes:
Matej Kovar (for Heaton 45) – 6 – Looked comfortable in the second half though he didn’t have too much to do.
Marc Jurado (for Wan-Bissaka 45) – 7 – Impressed in the second half, linking up well down the right flank.
Rhys Bennett (for Varane 45) – 7 – Defended well and hit the post with a header in the dying seconds.
Will Fish (for Martinez 45) – 7 – Looked really good defensively in the second half.
Brandon Williams (for Fernandez 45) – 7 – A good battle against Ayling seemed to be brewing, though he tucked inside a bit more, almost in a central midfield role.
Daniel Gore (for Mejbri 45) – 7 – Calm and composed in the midfield.
Isak Hansen-Aaroen (for Mount 45) – 7 – A mix up with Emeran saw Man Utd miss an opportunity but they were certainly on the same wavelength a few minutes later as Hansen-Aaroen provided an assist with a great pass. Had his moments.
Charlie Savage (for Mainoo 45) – 7 – Dropped quite deep on occasions to pick up the ball and cover for Williams, looking to dictate play.
Shola Shoretire (for Forson 45) – 6 – Probably the least impactful of the second-half performers though that’s more about how his teammates played than Shoretire himself.
Joe Hugill (for Sancho 45) – 7 – A threat to Leeds’ defence and beat the offside line to make it two with a calm finish.
Noam Emeran (for Diallo 45) – 8 – Communication was missing with Hansen-Aaroen to scupper a Man Utd attack but they linked up moments later with a cool finish from Emeran to put the Red Devils ahead. Got an assist too with a great pass to set up Hugill, a really good second-half showing from the Frenchman.
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Leeds
Kristoffer Klaesson – 7 – Kept Leeds in it at times with his saves including a great one on Hannibal. But his passing did leave Leeds short at times.
Cody Drameh – 7 – Did fairly well against Forson though there wasn’t too much to do. The only Leeds starter to make it back onto the pitch after half time, Drameh continued to look strong defensively. However, his tiredness may have played a part in Drameh playing Hugill onside for Man Utd’s second.
Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen – 5 – Lucky not to be punished for losing the ball to Mount in his own half, and looked a bit nervy.
Liam Cooper – 7 – Strong defending from the experienced Leeds captain. He was treating this like it was a cup final.
Leo Fuhr Hjelde – 6 – Struggled a bit to deal with Diallo and was the man to foul the youngster inside the opening minute, but did grow into the game.
Darko Gyabi – 7 – Looked good in the midfield and put in a couple of important tackles, holding strong.
Ian Poveda – 6 – Had his opportunities to break up the pitch and made it through once, though Leeds will probably have wanted a bit more.
Jamie Shackleton – 5 – Wasn’t too involved in the midfield battle.
Luis Sinisterra – 7 – Key to Leeds’ counter attacks, he caused some problems with his neat footwork.
Sam Greenwood – 5 – On the periphery of the game really.
Georginio Rutter – 6 – Tried to press early on and was the main threat in attack, dropping deep to be a supplier. Played a good pass to Sinisterra and ball across goal in the first half, though there wasn’t anyone to get onto the end of it and punish Man Utd.
Substitutes:
Dani van den Heuvel (for Klaesson 45) – 6 – Let Emeran’s shot go under him, though it was a good finish, and couldn’t do much about the second.
Luke Ayling (for Hjelde 45) – 6 – Got forward quite a lot early in the second half but was then pinned back as Leeds lost momentum.
Kris Moore (for Chilokoa-Mullen 45) – 6 – Promising defensively despite being part of the backline to concede two.
Pascal Struijk (for Cooper 45) – 6 – Went close with a good header from a corner early in the first half but was missing a bit defensively, when you’d expect him to bring the experience and quality.
Daniel James (for Poveda 45) – 6 – Was a danger at times, though perhaps not as much as he should have been. Sent a curling effort over when Leeds were chasing.
Lewis Bate (for Shackleton 45) – 5 – The game really passed him by.
Archie Gray (for Gyabi 45) – 7 – Rattled the side netting with a cracking effort and had a few good moments.
Mateo Joseph (for Sinisterra 45) – 7 – Looked the most dangerous for the Leeds in the second half, asking questions of the Man Utd defence.
Joe Gelhardt (for Greenwood 45) – 5 – Sent one shot over the bar but that was about it for his contributions.
Patrick Bamford (for Rutter 45) – 5 – Hardly in the game, and when he had an opportunity to break through the defence, he mistimed his run and was called offside.
