Manager’s comments on Manchester United star labelled “embarassing” following great finish

Ronald Koeman’s comments surrounding Matthijs de Ligt have been blasted following the Manchester United star’s first goal for the club.

After losing to Brighton and Liverpool back-to-back, Manchester United bounced back with a 3-0 win over Southampton at St. Mary’s.

The game started with high intensity, and after 30 minutes, Diogo Dalot conceded a penalty, but André Onana’s save turned the tide.

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Shortly after, Matthijs de Ligt headed home a Bruno Fernandes cross for his first United goal, and Marcus Rashford added a second with a curling strike just before half-time. Alejandro Garnacho sealed the victory in stoppage time with a powerful finish, securing three points for United.

While De Ligt has been rightly praised for his fantastic performance against the Saints – where he was awarded the Player of the Match award – he was blasted during the international break by Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman for his displays.

De Ligt was at fault for goals the Dutch side conceded during the international fixtures. After being substituted at half-time against Germany following a few errors, Koeman revealed his thoughts on the 25-year-old centre-half, saying he was “protecting” the player by taking him off after 45 minutes.

However, ESPN pundit Steve Nichol has now commented on the situation following United’s win at St. Mary’s stadium, blasting Koeman for his comments and applauding De Ligt for his performance.

“A lot of players would have crumbled under the criticism they got, or they would get from their international manager,” Nichol explained.

“I mean, it was embarrassing for any manager, never mind an international manager, to come down on a player the way he did, and the fact that he stood up, not only did he score a goal, but he defended well.

“At 0-0, he made a couple of fantastic challenges, a couple of great headers away, a couple of good blocks, and then he steps up and shows the rest of his team how it’s done and puts the ball in the back of the net.

“And from there, in my opinion, he was United’s best player, and the fact that he turned around and showed exactly what he’s made of, good for him.”

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