“Especially…” – Matthijs de Ligt reveals two things Ruben Amorim has learned about Manchester United squad

Matthijs de Ligt believes Ruben Amorim has learned two important things about his Manchester United squad.

Manchester United have had mixed form since Ruben Amorim took charge in mid-November, with just six wins in 14 games.

There have been some real promising moments, such as victories against Manchester City and Arsenal, but also underwhelming points like defeats to Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.

The most important thing for Amorim in these early stages, however, is to learn as much as possible about his players.

De Ligt says Amorim has learned two things about United squad

Matthijs de Ligt has been an important player for Amorim since he took over, starting 11 of the 14 games so far. He was unavailable for two games due to illness.

The former Bayern Munich centre-back believes that the Portuguese head coach has learned that the team still have a lot of work to improve on.

In particular, De Ligt suggest that the team’s build-up play must get better, with Amorim putting a lot of importance on building from the back rather than quick transitions.

However, on the other hand, the Dutch defender has claimed that Amorim would have learnt that even with the improvements needed, the team are willing to fight in games against bigger and smaller teams.

“I think the manager has learned that we still have a lot to improve on – especially in the build-up phase of play,” explained De Ligt.

“But he will have also learned that even against the teams at the bottom we can still put up a fight, as well as against the teams at the top.

“We have the mentality – and that, for me, is the biggest improvement that we have right now. We are fighting for each other.

“You see we are fighting on the pitch for every metre. I think that is the base for becoming a great team, step by step.

“I think we have to improve in other aspects but the fact we are doing this makes it a very big win.”

United have chance to prove De Ligt right

It is difficult to tell whether that is the case. For the Southampton game, despite falling behind and playing poorly, the team did work together and manage to get the win.

However, it could also be argued that Amad’s heroics saved the team, and they probably wouldn’t have got the win without the magic the Ivorian produced.

United have been able to turn up against bigger teams and cause upsets but the nitty-gritty games against teams you would expect United to beat have caused problems.

De Ligt seems to think that Amorim has seen that fight and the team will have the chance to prove it in the coming weeks.

United play Brighton this weekend and then follow it up with games against Rangers, Fulham, FCSB, Crystal Palace and Leicester City.

On paper, those are all games which United should be looking to win and their performances could also indicate that the team are taking forward steps in how they approach these types of games.

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Amorim will be hoping to build some form for the first time as United boss but fans will understandably be holding their breath.

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