Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor surprisingly omitted Matthijs de Ligt from his Premier League Team of the Week, despite his stunning performance for Manchester United against Southampton.
Matthijs de Ligt played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax and ascended to the captaincy at the Dutch club under the 54-year-old Manchester United manager.
The 25-year-old former Ajax star was reunited with Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford after United completed their sensational double swoop in August.
United agreed a deal worth nearly £60m to sign De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, who also played under Ten Hag at Ajax, from Bayern Munich in the summer.
De Ligt faced mounting criticism during the September break after Ronald Koeman pulled him off at half-time in the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw against Germany.
However, the Dutch centre-back responded with a commanding performance in the 3-0 Premier League win over Southampton at the St Mary’s on Saturday.
De Ligt opened the scoring for United in the first half with a towering header before Marcus Rashford put the Red Devils 2-0 up going into half-time.
Alejandro Garnacho found the back of the net in second-half injury time to seal all three points for United against Southampton, who were reduced to 10 men.
Agbonlahor snubs De Ligt for Team of the Week
Matthijs de Ligt played 87 minutes against Southampton before manager Erik ten Hag withdrew the Manchester United defender for Casemiro.
The Netherlands international earned rave reviews for his performance at the St Mary’s, including featuring in Troy Deeney’s Team of the Week for BBC.
However, Gabby Agbonlahor overlooked De Ligt for his Team of the Week and instead opted for the Dutchman’s United teammate Lisandro Martinez.
Lisandro Martinez has been a key defensive figure for Ten Hag and he played 77 minutes against Southampton before he was subbed off for Jonny Evans.
Agbonlahor waxed lyrical about the 26-year-old Argentine centre-back and felt that Martinez delivered an “outstanding” performance in the heart of the United defence.
“I thought he was very good,” he said on talkSPORT.
“I was one of the pundits who said his height would be a problem, but this season when he has played, he has been very good.
“I thought on Saturday he was aggressive in the tackle, he was reading the tackles as well, he wasn’t diving in, he was jockeying in at the right times, and making great interceptions, and also his playing from the back was second to none.
“I do like the fight that he has got as well. He came off with a little knock, but he didn’t want to.
“When his number came up, he turned around like you couldn’t see it. I like that in a player. He wants to play every minute. I thought his performance was outstanding.”
Agbonlahor names another Man Utd star in his team
Andre Onana prevented Southampton from taking a shock first-half lead after he denied Cameron Archer from the spot-kick.
The 28-year-old United shot-stopper kept the Red Devils in the competition early in the match before the momentum shifted in his side’s favour.
Agbonlahor praised Andre Onana for his solid performance at the St Mary’s and admitted that the former Ajax star is “getting more confident” at United.
“I think he has had sometimes deserved criticism since he joined Manchester United, but I feel like he’s coming on and on,” he said.
“His shot-stopping is second to none. A great save from the penalty, getting up quickly to catch the rebound as well.
“And also, he’s playing from the back. He’s getting more confident doing that in a Manchester United shirt.
“His teammates are getting more confident playing with him, so I think Onana this week deserves to be in the Team of the Week.”
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