Manchester United player ratings vs Lyon: Hannibal Mejbri and Dan Gore show future is bright

Manchester United v Olympique Lyonnais - Pre-Season Friendly
Getty Images
Marc Mayo19 July 2023

Young midfielders Hannibal Mejbri and Dan Gore were the pick of Manchester United’s performers in a pre-season friendly win over Lyon.

Erik ten Hag played two different teams in Edinburgh with a senior starting line-up featuring Antony and Mason Mount coming close to breaking the deadlock on a number of occasions.

After the break, a more youthful XI was introduced and acadmey star Gore picked out Donny van de Beek for the only goal of a 1-0 win on 49 minutes.

Matej Kovar - 5

Unable to show off his shot-stopping abilities in the face of a limp Lyon attack and looked suspect in his distribution.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 6

Fairly quiet and conservative in attack, he marshalled his flank well enough for a relatively trouble-free outing defensively.

Raphael Varane - 8

Made some nifty clearances from difficult positions inside his own box, showing his intelligence with typical grace.

Lisandro Martinez - 5

Marauding and confident on the ball yet a bit rustier in the tackle, with a couple of mistimed efforts allowing Lyon in behind.

Alvaro Fernandez - 5

Plenty of effort and running from the left-back but he lacked end product in attack and was caught out for one particularly dangerous counter.

Kobbie Mainoo - 6

A quiet and safe display from the deep-lying midfielder, who will have looked to impress Ten Hag with his positional maturity.

Mason Mount - 6

Chose his moments to attack and defend well yet failed to produce the killer touch in an early goalmouth scramble and from a couple of good openings on the edge fo the box.

FBL-PR-ENG-FRA-MAN UTD-LYON-FRIENDLY
AFP via Getty Images

Hannibal Mejbri - 8

Played in a more advanced midfield role and looked a real threat, smartly laying off a pass when he could have shot speculatively early on. Absolutely full of running and commitment, he’s clearly angling for that Scott McTominay/Fred role in the squad - and he may well get it.

Amad Diallo - 6

Should have done better with a pair of early openings but otherwise got his head up well in dangerous positions.

Antony - 7

Can be forgiven for the rustiness as he squandered a chance three minutes into his first game of the summer. Otherwise looked determined and adventurous, and set up Amad with a fine piece of running.

Jadon Sancho - 6

In an unfamiliar role central striker’s role, Sancho was a good outlet on the counter and into space, albeit with little to show for it.

Substitutes

Marc Jurado - 6

Saw an early shot blocked as he looked to bomb up and down the right flank.

Will Fish - 6

Untested by Lyon’s quiet attack.

Jonny Evans - 7

Earned a round of applause with a fine sliding tackle in his second United debut and was overall very authoritative at the back.

Brandon Williams - 6

Plenty of energy from the full-back, who looked to spark attacks.

Fred - 6

Made one promising surge forward and overall looked to be the mature, calm head in the midfield. Thumped a good free-kick position well over at the death.

Donny van de Beek - 7

Struck a fine opening goal to send Ten Hag a message minutes after coming on, but was quiet otherwise.

Dan Gore - 8

Big things are expected of the 18-year-old and it was clear to see why when he dug out a great assist for Van de Beek from the corner flag. Showed lovely close control, work-rate and technique throughout.

Omari Forson - 5

Struggled with a loose touch in attack, was better coming deep to help link passing moves together.

Isak Hansen-Aaroen - 6

Looked neat and creative, and had a 67th-minute effort across goal well saved.

Joe Hugill - 6

Keen to get involved and lead the line like a traditional No9, even if his passing was not always on the money.

Unused: Nathan Bishop, Noam Emeran, Elyh Harrison.

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