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Erik ten Hag will breathe a huge sigh of relief after Manchester United came back from a goal down to defeat Brentford 2-1 in their Premier League game at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Second-half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund were the difference in the end as the Red Devils climbed up to 10th in the league table.
While the attack saved the Dutchman on the day, a heroic display from Matthijs de Ligt at the back will have impressed the Dutchman equally.
The former Ajax captain has not had the best of starts to his United career, getting outmuscled in the Europa League game against Porto, while struggling with the pace and physicality of the English game since his summer move.
De Ligt shines
His international fortunes have also been lagging but against the Bees, the 25-year-old fought on despite a large gash on his head from a nasty looking collision with the knee of a Brentford attacker.
Warrior ⚔️#MUFC || @MdeLigt_04 pic.twitter.com/fMSi0CO6W5
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 19, 2024
He was bandaged up but blood kept spilling out and the medical team’s incompetency meant United temporarily went down to 10 men which resulted in Brentford taking the lead.
But he never shirked his responsibilities when he was on the pitch and made three interceptions, and as many tackles and clearances.
He hardly allowed any space to the Brentford attackers and was smart when it came to interceptions and knew when to push up and when to fall back.
De Ligt the warrior
The former Bayern Munich star won three ground duels out of four and half of his aerial duels. Going forward, the Netherlands international was also a handful, managing a 95 percent passing accuracy while he also made one key pass.
He completed 100 percent of his crosses and successfully found a teammate once from a long ball attempt while completing four passes into the final third (all stats via sofascore).
The display will give him a lot of confidence moving forward and Ten Hag will be hoping to see more from a player who seemed to have lost himself since his departure from Amsterdam.
United’s next game is against Fenerbahce in Europe and De Ligt needs to prove himself in the continental competition next up to silence his doubters further.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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