Video: JJ Gabriel wondergoal lights up player ratings for Man United u21s’ demolition of Ipswich | OneFootball

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Manchester United Under-21s opened their season with a convincing 5-0 victory over Ipswich Town Under-21s.

These are our player ratings for the match. You can read a detailed match report here.

(A score of six is around average.)

Ratings

Cameron Byrne-Hughes – 6.5 – Wasn’t called into action until the 75th minute, when he made a decent save.

Jaydan Kamason – 9 – Fully back to his 2024/25 form after injuries last season, he made the right flank his own. On the rare occasions Ipswich ventured forward, he easily dispossessed the winger, who could not gain a yard of space on him. In attack, he bombed up and down the wing for the full 90 minutes and combined well with Musa. He capped off a superb performance with an even better goal.

Albert Mills – 7 – Calm and composed at the back, he was never troubled and quickly laid the ball forward as United pinned Ipswich back.

Dan Armer – 8 – A match perfectly suited to his game, he had all the time in the world to pick out his passes and delivered some lovely diagonal balls over the top. He also got forward for a corner and headed home to put his name on the scoresheet.

Harry Amass – 8.5 – Simply far too good for this level, he spent as much time in midfield as he did at left-back. Coming inside, he combined with the midfield to control the match and smothered Ipswich in the central areas, which never gave them a chance to get hold of the ball.

Tyler Fletcher – 8.5 – A perfect execution of counter-pressing in the midfield, he mopped up everything and did not give the Ipswich players a chance as he dispossessed them before they even gained control.

Jack Fletcher – 9 – Pulling the strings in midfield, he showed what he can do when he has the confidence after garnering criticism in the first team. He scored the second goal, which he opened up with an exquisite first touch that took the entire Ipswich backline out of the game. He then provided the assist for Gabriel’s goal with a line-splitting pass, which he picked out throughout the 90 minutes, and should have come away with more assists.

Victor Musa – 8 – Put United in the lead within two minutes, and his directness had Ipswich very uncomfortable throughout the opening stages. He impressed most with his movement as he interchanged with Kamason and Ibragimov.

JJ Gabriel – 9 – Made his competitive U21s debut and already looked too good for the level. Despite being much smaller than the opposition defenders, it rarely mattered as they simply could not get near him, and when they did, they could only foul him. He consistently found space in the right channel and attacked the byline, which led to him picking up two assists. He then scored one himself with an outrageous scooped finish.

Tynan Thompson – 7 – A decent showing on his competitive debut for United, he looked to have the beating of his man and should have had a goal when Gabriel played him through in the first half. Understandably, he did not have the chemistry with his teammates, which made it harder to get involved in a lot of the quick interchanging movement, and mostly came alive as an individual.

Amir Ibragimov – 8 – A Wayne Rooney-esque performance as the number nine, he did it all but score a goal on the night. From making runs in behind the defenders to dropping deep and playing the through balls himself, he covered every blade of grass and was even putting in tackles at the halfway line. His through ball started the move for the fourth goal, and he was unlucky not to have earned a penalty.

Substitutes

Reece Munro – 6.5 – After missing most of last season through injury, he slotted in well and never looked troubled.

Jim Thwaites – 7 – Put up a fight as Ipswich got physical late on, getting stuck into a couple of challenges and forced a good save from the keeper with a long-range effort.

Ashton Missin – 6.5 – His first appearance since January 2025, he looked lively off the bench and should have won a penalty.

Godwill Kukonki – 6 – Had a couple of sloppy touches on the ball, which opened space for Ipswich, but did well to recover.

Christian Orozco – 6 – Looked to be surprised by the pace of the game at times, as he looked to take his time on the ball, but he did well to maintain possession every time he realised he was under pressure.