Manchester United were humbled once again in the Premier League on Sunday, losing 0-3 to Tottenham at Old Trafford.
United fans watched on in horror as Brennan Johnson gave Spurs an early lead, with second-half goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke completing a miserable afternoon for the Red Devils.
Sunday’s defeat was United’s third in the league this season, leaving the club languishing in 13th place in the table.
This start has piled even more pressure on Erik ten Hag, with the Dutchman’s future once again on the minds of Sir Jim Radcliffe and INEOS.
However, performances on the pitch are more immediately concerning, given the money spent on the squad this summer.
Ten Hag oversaw a sizeable investment into his defence in the summer transfer window, signing Noussair Mazraoui and young starlet Leny Yoro.
Midfield anchor Manuel Ugarte also joined United from PSG to sure up the defence, but consecutive 3-0 home league defeats have raised questions about the success of this transfer spree.
One signing in particular, though, has garnered the most scrutiny, with Premier League legend Jamie Carragher delivering a damning verdict of his performance against Tottenham.
Jamie Carragher slams ‘out of position’ Mattijs de Ligt after defeat against Tottenham
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher was far from impressed with Mattijs de Ligt’s performance against Tottenham.
Carragher said: “Their [Manchester United’s] rest defence is awful, it always has been behind the ball when they lose possession.
“In that first half, de Ligt, a player they’ve brought in for huge money, is completely out of position the whole time. So he ends up having to go flying into challenges and into situations where he could get a yellow card or a red.”
Spurs’ opener came from a remarkable run from de Ligt’s Dutch teammate Micky van de Ven, but this could’ve been prevented if de Ligt had covered the available space.
His questionable positioning also led to big chances for Johnson and Timo Werner, with only poor finishing sparing the United defender’s blushes.
Clearly, de Ligt must improve in the areas that Carragher has highlighted. However, his individual stats should give some reassurance to ten Hag and the United fans.
Matthijs de Ligt’s stats show that he can still be a key player for Manchester United
Despite his performance against Tottenham, the Dutchman has shown some promise in his Manchester United career so far.
De Ligt joined United from Bayern Munich for £45 million and has featured in all but one game this season for his new club.
In the Premier League, de Ligt has completed 90% of his passes and is yet to be dispossessed by the opposition. He has also won 69.2% of his aerial duels, suggesting that he is providing quality both in and out of possession.
Some aspects of his game are concerning, though. He has only won 50% of his tackles, which will only be emphasised more if his positioning continues to be an issue.
However, if de Ligt can address his positional problems, his quality on the ball and his physical strength suggest that he should be an important player for Erik ten Hag and United.
The post Jamie Carragher slams Manchester United’s ‘awful’ defence against Tottenham, with one star ‘completely out of position’ appeared first on HITC.
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