
Ruben Amorim has ordered Matthijs de Ligt to make one change to his game against Fulham despite his strong display against Arsenal on the weekend.
Manchester United were defeated 1-0 by Arsenal in the opening game of their Premier League season but they were the better team in the clash at Old Trafford.
The difference in the game was a controversial goal which saw William Saliba barge into Altay Bayındır during a corner which meant that the Turkish international couldn’t get a strong enough hand on the ball.
For the Reds, there were several strong performers during the game and Matthijs de Ligt was one of them as he put in one of his best displays since joining the club.
But ahead of the clash with Fulham next weekend, Ruben Amorim has made it clear that he wants the Dutch defender to make one change to his game.
De Ligt’s difference to Arsenal from set-pieces
Whenever Arsenal had a corner in the game at Old Trafford, it was Saliba’s job to disrupt Bayındır and do nothing else. He did not even jump to head the ball when the goal occurred, but simply backed into the goalkeeper.
United’s approach to their attacking corners was not hugely different. With all three corners for the Reds – and a free-kick next to the flag – De Ligt ended up in close proximity to David Raya.
But the problem for United was that the ex-Bayern Munich defender actually tried to head or attack the ball rather than pushing the goalkeeper out of the way.
On 56 minutes, Raya was able to get a strong punch on the ball from a Bruno Fernandes free-kick from a wide position. De Ligt jumped and tried to head the ball.
While this is what you’d imagine players should be doing, it is clear that the Premier League are not punishing players for these sneaky actions during corners.
Amorim orders De Ligt to play dirty
Amorim made clear after the game against Arsenal that he wants his team to do the same tricks as Mikel Arteta’s side. De Ligt will likely be told that he should only be focused on interfering with the opposition goalkeeper.
“I think you can watch the goal. I think it’s allowed, to do a lot of things, in the corners. We need to do the same,” the United boss said.
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“When you touch that way, the goalkeeper, he needs to use his hand to catch the ball, not to push the players, or he chooses to push players and let the ball pass. But, again, it’s the rules, if it’s allowed, we need to do the same thing.”
Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo both have excellent set-piece deliveries from either flank and they should start focusing on getting the ball as close to the goalkeeper as possible while someone like De Ligt holds their arms and shoves them about.
That is how football should be played now, apparently.
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