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Manager’s Comments About £43m Man Utd Star ‘Embarrassing’

By Admin / September 17, 2024

Manchester United secured a pivotal three points at St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon, with defender Matthijs de Ligt opening the scoring in the comfortable victory, and delivering a performance that has prompted ESPN’s Steve Nichol to praise the Dutchman after he was the brunt of critical comments from Ronald Koeman last week.




Goals from De Ligt, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho saw United beat Southampton 3-0, in what was ultimately a routine win over a newly promoted side. The result eases the pressure on Erik ten Hag, as his side moved up the table to tenth after four matches.

De Ligt was hooked at half-time during the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw with Germany, and was criticised by Oranje manager Koeman, who said he was protecting the United centre-back by substituting him. According to Nicol, De Ligt responded to this ’embarrassing’ situation with his national team with an impressive display against the Saints.


Nicol: Koeman Treatment of De Ligt Was ‘Embarrassing’

The centre-back headed home the opener at St. Mary’s

Matthijs de Ligt


After falling in the pecking order under Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich last season, De Ligt sought a new challenge, and completed a switch to United for a fee that could rise to £43 million if performance-related add-ons are met. Starting his first game for the Red Devils against Liverpool prior to the international break and failing to impress, the 25-year-old then dropped a ‘hopeless’ performance for the Netherlands against Germany over the international break.

Slammed for this display after he was partially at fault for both of die Mannschaft’s goals, and taken off at half-time by Koeman, De Ligt responded this weekend with an assured outing at the heart of United’s defence. Heading home from a Burno Fernandes cross following a short corner, to get the ball rolling for Ten Hag’s men, the former Juventus man was accomplished in his defensive work on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking on De Ligt’s display, former Liverpool player and now pundit Nicol waxed lyrcial about the imposing Dutchman:


“A lot of players would have crumbled under the criticism that they got, or they would get from their international manager. I mean, it was embarrassing for any manager, never mind an international manager, to come down on a player the way he did, and the fact that he stood up, not only did he score a goal, but he defended well.

“At 0-0, he made a couple of fantastic challenges, a couple of great headers away, a couple of good blocks, and then he steps up and shows the rest of his team how it’s done, and puts the ball in the back of the net. And from there, in my opinion, he was United’s best player, and the fact that he turned around and showed exactly what he’s made of, good for him.”

De Ligt’s Bundesliga Statistics 2023/24

Appearances

22

Goals

2

Pass Accuracy

93.9%

Progressive Passes Per 90

6.36

Passes into the Final Third

7.08

Tackles Per 90

0.97

Interceptions Per 90

1.23

Clearances Per 90

3.38

Aerial Duels Won Per 90

2.66


Mainoo Told He ‘Can’t Really Move’

The youngster was paired with Eriksen

mainoo

In a facet of Ten Hag’s management of the game against Southampton that raised eyebrows, the maligned head coach opted to deploy a double pivot of Christain Eriksen and Kobbie Mainoo. ESPN’s Don Hutchinson argued such a combination was a ‘massive risk’ as it involved two players who ‘can’t really move’.

Eriksen was eventually substituted, with new signing Manuel Ugarte arriving onto the field of play in the 73rd minute, making his debut for the Manchester club. The Uruguayan provided more defensive support for Mainoo, and United subsquently ended the game looking significantly more secure than they had done for large portions.

All Statistics via FBRef – as of 16/09/2024


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