Victor Lindelof’s poor start to the season has continued at international level.
Lindelof was on the losing side as Sweden suffered a shock 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Georgia.
The Manchester United star was guilty of sloppy defending for both goals as Sweden were beaten against the fourth ranked team in their group.
Lindelof, the national team captain, was criticised on Swedish TV by former midfielder Kim Kallstrom, who had a brief spell at Arsenal.
Kallstrom told TV4, reported by Sport Bible Sweden: “This is not how you should play defensive games. We have been incredibly positive about him, that he is a playing defender, but there are limits to that. You must not chip the ball as the last man.”
Lindelof had tried to chip the ball over opponent Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who intercepted his pass and went on to score.
Lindelof his own worst critic
Lindelof had given the ball away for one of Georgia’s goals and he did not shy away from it in his post-match interview.
Speaking to Expressen, he said: “It’s bad, bad action by me. I think I should pull it over his legs, but it’s too bad and it was not in a good position. It was 1-0 and became 2-0. I’m absolutely not happy about my decision there.”
Kallstrom praised his attitude, commenting: “I like it. There are no excuses, he goes out as team captain and says he did wrong, then we move on. I like that.”
FotMob’s player ratings graded Lindelof’s performance as a 5.6 out of 10, the lowest on the pitch.
Sweden lost their place at the top of the group as a result of the defeat, undoing the earlier good work they had done by beating Spain, who have now leapfrogged them into first place.
It puts Spain in a strong position ahead of hosting Spain on Sunday night.
Lindelof’s form is certainly a concern for United. While Harry Maguire received plenty of criticism after the Liverpool and City games, Lindelof was no better, and has not risen to the challenge posed by Raphael Varane.
Now with Varane out, United need him, and he will have to lift his game. This international error won’t help his confidence at all.
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