What Matthijs de Ligt did after sloppy Man United moment vs Southampton speaks volumes about his leadership

Matthijs de Ligt was awarded the Man of the Match after Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

Erik ten Hag made two changes to Manchester United’s lineup against Southampton, bringing in Amad Diallo and Christian Eriksen, as the team secured a 3-0 win against The Saints.

Goals from Matthijs de Ligt, Marcus Rashford, and substitute Alejandro Garnacho, along with a crucial penalty save by André Onana, ensured a win and clean sheet for United.

De Ligt started for the second time following a difficult international break with the Netherlands and put in a strong defensive display, scoring the opening goal of the game.

He was named the Man of the Match after the game and also seemed to provide something that we haven’t often seen at Old Trafford in recent years.

De Ligt’s reaction to Amad’s sloppy moment

It wasn’t De Ligt’s goal or one of his defensive actions in the box which stood out in terms of leadership, but instead a reaction to a poor pass from Amad midway through the second half.

Amad is usually one of United’s better players in terms of pass appreciation and weight but he let his standards slip slightly when he did not put enough weight on a pass back to De Ligt on 65 minutes.

The United defender managed to win a throw-in despite pressure from a Southampton player, but his immediate reaction to Amad was precisely what you want to see.

De Ligt held his arms out and slapped them together, looking like he was telling Amad to ‘wake up’. It was a small moment but one that showed that the Dutch centre-back does not want the team’s standards to slip.

Small details like this are what United have missed in recent years. Teams like Arsenal and Manchester City have learned to do the simple things extremely well and consistently.

Keep doing the simple things well

United will need to make many improvements in the more complicated side of the game in order to move forward under Ten Hag.

However, the simple things will also need to get better. Weight of pass, passing to your teammate’s strong foot. The things that we don’t think about.

De Ligt does not see himself as a leader. He wants to let others decide that. But things like that are needed in a team to try and keep the standards high.

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