Jamie Carragher has condemned Manchester United’s £43million summer signing Matthijs de Ligt for being ‘always completely out of position’ during his side’s humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Dutchman reunited with manager Erik ten Hag this summer and it was hoped his arrival from Bayern Munich would strengthen the Red Devils’ unreliable defence.
But he has had a difficult start to life at Old Trafford and is part of a back four that has conceded three goals in successive home games, having also struggled in the defeat to Liverpool.
On Sunday the defensive line looked as shaky as ever as Spurs blasted through United with ease and rained shots into goalkeeper Andre Onana’s goal.
And Air sports Pundit Carragher has launched a scathing attack on De Ligt for his tendency to stay in a central position and not move to the right when defending.
Jamie Carragher has slammed Manchester United’s £43million summer signing Matthijs de Ligt for being ‘completely out of position the whole time’
The Dutchman has had a difficult start to life at Old Trafford and is part of a back four that has conceded three goals in consecutive home games
Sky Sports pundit Carragher launched a scathing attack on De Ligt for his defensive weaknesses
Analyzing the opening goal, which came after a strong run from Tottenham centre-back Micky van de Ven, he said: ‘I’ve noticed this a bit with De Ligt and a lot of centre-backs.
‘I don’t understand why they don’t fill the space and come over – I see this so often.
‘The striker behind him has nothing to do with him. That is [Lisandro] Martinez’s job. When De Ligt passes, Martinez comes over.
‘Now here he is actually looking over his shoulder again – forget about that! Forget it, come here [to the right-hand side].
“It was a brilliant run, it was great, but van de Ven runs because he sees the space.”
Brennan Johnson was on hand to tap the ball home from a low cross, handing the forward his fourth goal in four games, but he could have got a second shortly afterwards when he hit United’s post.
Carragher also pointed out that De Ligt had failed to fill the space in the build-up to this opportunity.
“I want to go to De Ligt again,” he said. ‘Now they’re locked in here, so you’ve got a Tottenham front three locking down the back four.
He reunited with manager Erik ten Hag this summer and it was hoped his arrival would strengthen the Red Devils’ unreliable defense.
But the defensive line looked as shaky as ever as Spurs crashed through United with ease
For the first time, Brennan Johnson was on hand to tap the ball home from a low cross, handing the forward his fourth goal in four games.
“There are two guys there against one player. De Ligt should be here already [further right] And [Noussair] Mazraoui should be here in this position [also further right].
“If we go through with it, just look at it. De Ligt flying over is going to fly into the challenge – similar to one he took on Luis Diaz for Liverpool – because he’s coming from a starting position.”
Carragher then analyzed a third example where De Ligt had not been moved across, allowing Timo Werner to run through on goal before shooting straight at Andre Onana.
‘Two huge chances and the goal, De Ligt, a player they brought in for a lot of money, is completely out of position all the time so he has to fly into the challenge in the end and then you get into a situation where you can get in. yellow cards and red cards.’
The win made it four straight wins in all competitions for Ange Postecoglou’s side and without Onana’s heroics, Spurs could have made it six or seven.
The away side scored early in each half to set the tone. Johnson’s tap came inside three minutes before Dejan Kulusevski stretched home in the second.
In between, United’s Bruno Fernandes was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle, which did not confirm the outcome of the encounter at Old Trafford.
Dominic Solanke scored late on to snuff out a spirited United revival and signal for thousands of home fans to go home on a rainy evening in Manchester.
Not every expert has been so critical of De Ligt. Earlier this month, former Liverpool player Danny Murphy praised the centre-back after the side’s win over Southampton and suggested his partnership with Martinez could provide the solution to the Red Devils’ defensive problems.
United’s Bruno Fernandes was shown a red card in the first half for a dangerous tackle
Danny Murphy praised United’s defensive duo earlier this month, saying: ‘Martinez’s distribution was brilliant and De Ligt got a goal to lift him up after a difficult international break’
He said: ‘There are encouraging signs that they can be the solid central defensive duo that Erik ten Hag craves.
“Both players looked aggressive as they wanted to win the ball and use their physicality to influence the game.
“The most important thing for Ten Hag was to see them thrive as a partnership. The positioning between them was good – rarely far apart. Martinez’s distribution was brilliant and De Ligt got a goal to lift him up after a difficult international break.’
