Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag kept faith with Matthijs de Ligt against Southampton and was rewarded with an excellent performance.
Erik ten Hag eased Matthijs de Ligt into the team after signing the Dutchman days before the Premier League season began.
When the crunch game with Liverpool rolled around, Ten Hag selected De Ligt as a starter ahead of Harry Maguire. The game did not go well, although the new signing did well enough himself.
But then De Ligt made two errors in the Netherlands international matches, one leading to him being substituted at half-time, and you wondered whether Harry Maguire might come back in against Southampton.
Ten Hag stuck by De Ligt, and was rewarded with a goal and clean sheet, with the centre-back turning in a man of the match display, amid heavy competition.
Dutch media on Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt came in for heavy criticism in the Netherlands after his goal-costing error against Germany in the UEFA Nations League.
His performance for Manchester United was much better, and the Dutch media were keen to give credit where it is due.
The Algemeen Dagblad newspaper hailed the Manchester United centre-back as a ‘standout’ performer in the win.
Their report added: “The scoring Matthijs de Ligt played a strong match and took revenge for his two poor matches last week in the shirt of Oranje.”
Het Parool wrote: “Against Southampton, Matthijs de Ligt finally played with freedom and suddenly full of confidence.”
Voetbal Zone observed: “Matthijs de Ligt has somewhat avenged himself in the first half of the duel between Southampton and Manchester United for his two mediocre performances in the Dutch national team.”
Describing his return to form as a ‘sporting revenge’, the outlet added that De Ligt “quickly rewarded his coach’s faith.”
FC Update described De Ligt’s performance as a ‘much needed boost’ for both De Ligt and manager Erik ten Hag.
Man Utd teammates praise De Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt’s new Manchester United teammates sent him messages on Instagram praising his efforts.
The centre-back is going to be an important part of the first team, and is considered a regular starter at present, at least until Leny Yoro returns from injury.
De Ligt bring a mass of experience to United, and has clearly learned not to get too low, or too high, overreacting to past errors.
He may get a rest in the Carabao Cup against Barnsley – but by time the next Premier League fixture comes around next Saturday, away at Crystal Palace, expect De Ligt to be among the starters.
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