Matthijs de Ligt continued his impressive run of form for Manchester United against Tottenham but he still has room for improvement.
Manchester United drew 2-2 with Tottenham to extend the unbeaten run in the Premier League to five matches.
Matthijs de Ligt scored a last-gasp equaliser to salvage a point, but Ruben Amorim left disappointed that his side threw away another lead.
After the full-time whistle, De Ligt was frustrated to draw, but the Dutch defender can be extremely proud of his individual performance.
United fans raved about De Ligt following his display in North London, but Amorim is confident that he can elevate to an even higher level.
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Defensively, De Ligt was flawless for United against Tottenham and, frankly, he has been the club’s best defender all season.
But at 26 years old, he still has plenty of years ahead of him to keep improving, and Amorim has already said how.
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After full-time against Tottenham, Amorim praised De Ligt but also dropped a hint about what he wants from his defenders.
“I think he has more quality on the ball than he’s showing because he’s still at a point where he doesn’t want to make a mistake with the ball. When we reach a point, a very good point, our three centre-backs will control the tempo and the quality of the game.”
Amorim clearly wants Matthijs de Ligt to be more composed in possession, which will help United to dictate possession and the tempo of matches.
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The statistics back up what Amorim is saying about De Ligt.
De Ligt has played every minute of United’s Premier League campaign, and there has been a noticeable trend in his performances.
As per the Premier League figures, De Ligt has made 59 clearances this season. That is twice as many as any other United player, with Leny Yoro ranking second with 27.
While that appears as a positive on paper, De Ligt’s tendency to clear his lines does cost United possession and a chance to build up from deep.
Amorim has adopted a more direct approach, but ideally he wants United to become a possession-based team. For that to happen, De Ligt will have to adapt.