Jamie Carragher has slammed Manchester United’s £43million summer signing Matthijs de Ligt for being ‘completely out of position all the time’ during his side’s humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Dutchman reunited with manager Erik ten Hag over the summer and it was hoped his arrival from Bayern Munich would bolster the Red Devils’ unreliable defence.
But he has endured a tough start at Old Trafford and is part of a back four which has conceded three goals in consecutive home matches, having also struggled in the defeat to Liverpool.
On Sunday the defensive line looked as creaky as ever as Spurs crashed through United with ease and rained shots down on goalkeeper Andre Onana’s goal.
And Sky Sports pundit Carragher has launched a scathing attack on de Ligt for his tendency to stay in a central position and not move across to the right-hand side while defending.
Jamie Carragher has slammed Manchester United ‘s £43million summer signing Matthijs de Ligt for being ‘completely out of position all the time’
The Dutchman has endured a tough start at Old Trafford and is part of a back four which has conceded three goals in consecutive home matches
Sky Sports pundit Carragher has launched a scathing attack on de Ligt for his tendency to stay in a central position and not move across to the right-hand side
Analysing the opening goal, which came after a surging run from Tottnham centre-back Micky van de Ven, he said: ‘I’ve noticed this a little 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 much.
‘The striker behind him has got nothing to do with him. Thats is [Lisandro] Martinez’s job. If de Ligt goes over, Martinez comes across.
‘Now again he’s actually looking over his shoulder here – forget that! Forget it, get here [to the right-hand side].
‘It was a brilliant run, it was amazing, but van de Ven runs because he sees the space.’
Brennan Johnson was on hand to tap the ball home after a low cross, handing the forward his fourth goal in four games, but he could have had a second shortly after when he struck the United post.
Carragher also pointed out that de Ligt had failed to fill in the space during the build-up to this chance.
‘Again I want to go to de Ligt,’ he said. ‘Now they’re locked in here so you’ve got a front three of Tottenham locking the back four in.
He reunited with manager Erik ten Hag over the summer and it was hoped his arrival would bolster the Red Devils’ unreliable defence
On Sunday the defensive line looked as creaky as ever as Spurs crashed through United with ease
For the first, Brennan Johnson was on hand to tap the ball home after a low cross, handing the forward his fourth goal in four games
‘There’s two men versus one player there. De Ligt should already be over here [further right] and [Noussair] Mazraoui should be in this position here [also further right].
‘If we run it on, just look at it. De Ligt who comes flying across, goes flying into the challenge – very similar to a challenge he put in against I think Luis Diaz for Liverpool – because he comes from a starting position.’
Carragher then analysed a third example where de Ligt had not shuffled across leaving Timo Werner to run through on goal, only to fire a shot straight at Andre Onana.
‘Two massive chances and the goal, de Ligt, a player they brought in for huge money, is completely out of position all the time so he ends up having to go flying into challenge and then you leave yourself in a situation where you can get yellow cards and red cards.’
The win made it four wins in a row in all competitions for Ange Postecoglou’s side and, were it not for some heroics from Onana, Spurs could have had six or seven.
The away team scored early in each half to set the tone, Johnson’s tap in coming inside three minutes, before Dejan Kulusevski stretched home in the second.
In between, United’s Bruno Fernandes received a red card for a dangerous tackle to all but confirm the outcome of the Old Trafford encounter.
Dominic Solanke scored late on to quash a spirited United revival and provide the cue for thousands of home fans to head home into a rainy Manchester night.
Not every pundit has been so critical of de Ligt. Earlier this month former Liverpool man Danny Murphy praised the centre-back after the side’s victory over Southampton and suggested his partnership with Martinez might provide the solution to the Red Devils’ defensive woes.
United’s Bruno Fernandes received a red card for a dangerous tackle to all but confirm the outcome of the Old Trafford encounter
Johnson then found Dejan Kulusevski in the area who poked it past Onana at full stretch before wheeling off in manic celebration
Danny Murphy has praised the United defensive pair and said earlier this month: ‘Martinez’s distribution was brilliant and De Ligt got a goal to lift him after a difficult international break’
He said: ‘There are encouraging signs they could be the solid central defensive pairing Erik ten Hag has craved.
‘Both players looked aggressive in wanting to win the ball and use their physicality to impact the game.
‘The important thing for Ten Hag was to see them gel 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 after a difficult international break.’