The last few weeks have not been easy for Matthijs de Ligt – and that’s putting it mildly. Although Ronald Koeman put him in the starting eleven in both of the most recent international matches, the central defender was unable to repay the national coach’s trust with good performances.
While de Ligt may have lost his place in the starting eleven for the Dutch national team for the time being, his start at Manchester United has also been more bad than good. The 25-year-old recently admitted that the last few weeks have been difficult for him mentally. This makes his first goal for the Red Devils, which he scored on Saturday in the 3-0 victory over Southampton FC, all the more important for him.
He rounded off this performance by winning six of eight duels and keeping a clean sheet. Erik ten Hag then also commented on de Ligt and gave his new signing the support he undoubtedly needs at the moment.
“I was [der guten Leistung von] Matthijs de Ligt is not surprised,” stressed the coach (via Fabrizio Romano). “At the moment he is not really fit, he has not yet reached 100 percent of his speed. But he needs the games to get back to that level. We are already seeing here and there what he can do – and he will do much better once he has reached his level again.”
“We are already very happy with him,” continued ten Hag. The head coach of Man United was considered largely responsible for the signing of de Ligt. This was of course also based on the joint and very successful collaboration at Ajax Amsterdam. This should now ideally be revived.
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