September 30th 2024.
Matthijs de Ligt didn't have a great day on the field as Manchester United were heavily beaten by Spurs. Former player Jamie Carragher didn't hold back in his criticism of de Ligt, stating that his shaky performance perfectly reflected the team's poor defending under Erik ten Hag's management.
The pressure on ten Hag is mounting as Spurs dominated every aspect of the game at Old Trafford on Sunday. They took an early lead through Brennan Johnson, who capitalized on an incredible 70-yard run from Micky van de Ven. Despite having chances to equalize, United were dealt a blow when Bruno Fernandes was sent off just before half-time.
The situation only got worse for United after the break as Dejan Kulusevski doubled the visitors' lead within two minutes and Dominic Solanke added a third, securing a comfortable win for Ange Postecoglou's side. This result leaves United in 12th place on the table, and there have been calls for ten Hag to be replaced. However, it is expected that he will remain in charge for the crucial upcoming matches against Porto and Aston Villa.
De Ligt has had a rough start to his United career since his high-profile £43m transfer from Bayern Munich towards the end of the summer window. Sky Sports pundit Carragher analyzed United's loss on Monday Night Football and pointed out several instances where de Ligt's positioning was to blame for the goals conceded.
Carragher pointed out that de Ligt's poor decision-making was evident in Johnson's early goal, where he left a gap in the defense that should have been covered by his teammate Lisandro Martinez. Later in the first half, de Ligt was again caught out of position, with only goalkeeper Andre Onana's quick reflexes preventing another goal for Spurs.
Carragher noted that this has been a recurring issue for United over the past few years, with their midfield lacking the ability to stop counter-attacks and the defense constantly being caught off guard. He also questioned de Ligt's role in the team, stating that for a player brought in for a significant sum of money, he is often out of position and forced to make reckless challenges, leading to yellow or red cards.
Despite this, de Ligt is expected to retain his spot in the starting lineup for the upcoming matches against Porto and Aston Villa. It remains to be seen if he can redeem himself and prove his worth to the team. After United's disappointing performance against Spurs, former player Paul Scholes questioned the decision to bring in de Ligt, stating that he doesn't see a significant improvement from their previous defender Harry Maguire.
Scholes argued that when signing new players, they should be better than the current squad, and in his opinion, de Ligt is not a major improvement over Maguire. United will have to regroup and work on their defensive issues if they hope to turn their season around.
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