Man Utd player ratings vs Leeds - two score 8/10 as Mount starts in 2-0 win

Manchester United started the 2023 summer pre-season with a 2-0 victory over Leeds United in Oslo.

Twenty-two players featured for the Red Devils on Wednesday against their old foes, with a first-choice XI replaced at half-time by a young squad, as the majority of United’s senior players are yet to return ahead of the new campaign. But it was the youthful side who grabbed the goals in Norway, with Noam Emeran and Joe Hugill netting in the second period.

United started the game well and dominated the ball in the early stages. It took just 10 minutes for Erik ten Hag’s men to carve out a dangerous opening, with Hannibal’s shot from point-blank range saved by Kristoffer Klaesson, before Amad fired over from the edge of the box.

Mason Mount, playing his first United game, nearly marked it with a goal when he dispossessed Jeremiah Mullen and tried to chip the keeper from around 30 yards, but the ball landed on the roof of the net.

On 22 minutes, Mullen then blocked Omari Forson’s goal-bound shot inside the box, while Alvaro Fernandez went close with a header from a corner but couldn’t make real contact with the ball.

Leeds didn’t offer much in the first half but Tom Heaton did keep out Sam Greenwood’s sliding shot from just a few yards out. The opening 45 ended with Amad blazing another attempt over, in a half that the Red Devils were by far the better side in, but failed to hit the back of the net.

Ten Hag, as expected, made 11 changes at the break and replaced every single first-half starter. It was Leeds who had the first chance of the second period, with Pascal Struijk miscued header going wide. It was a quiet start to the half and it took until the 66th minute for the next chance of note, when Emeran broke the deadlock. The winger was played in by Isak Hansen-Aaroen, and he then calmly slotted the ball past Leeds goalkeeper Dani van den Heuvel.

Leeds did go close with two efforts midway through the half, with Archie Gray hitting the side netting from outside the box, while ex-United man Daniel James curled over. Yet when the next goal came it was United who grabbed it - again, Emeran was integral as his pass inside found Hugill, who finished first time to double the Red Devils’ lead.

Ten Hag's young stars really impressed in the second half and nearly made it 3-0 in injury-time, but an unlucky Rhys Bennett saw his header rebound off the post. Here's how we rated all 22 United players in the opening pre-season fixture...