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Jamie Carragher singled out Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt for criticism and said the £42 summer signing was “out of position all the time” during the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday.
In a segment on Monday Night Football, the former Liverpool centre-back highlighted three incidents during the first half at Old Trafford where Spurs were able to counter-attack against United and said De Ligt was at fault.
The Netherlands international and former Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich defender has only made four Premier League starts for United but has been caught out in the defeats to Liverpool and now Spurs.
United were beaten 3-0 to increase the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag after captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off. But Tottenham’s margin of victory could have been even greater and Gary Neville called United’s display “disgusting”.
Carragher believes De Ligt’s starting position on the defensive line alongside Lisandro Martinez is causing United problems and said the 25-year-old should have been closer to right back Noussair Mazraoui.
Tottenham’s opening goal came from Micky van de Ven’s surging run down United’s right side, while Timo Werner was also able to exploit the space behind Mazraoui and had two clear chances to put Spurs further in front.
“United’s rest defence is awful, it always has been behind the ball when they lose possession,” Carragher said on Monday Night Football. “But where’s De Ligt. In every situation in that first half, two massive chances and the goal, De Ligt, a player they brought in for huge money, is completely out of position all the time.
“So he ends up having to go flying into challenges and then you leave yourself in a situation where you can get yellow cards and red cards.”
It came after Neville slammed an “absolutely disgusting” performance from Manchester United, in what he said was their “worst performance” under Ten Hag.
“The big story today is that in that first half,” he said on Sky Sports. “You can’t say it came from nowhere because Manchester United have been inconsistent all season, but they have chosen to put in their very worst performance, their very worst possible showing.
“It was an absolutely disgusting performance in that first half in effort, quality, everything you want in a football team and there are going to be questions to answer for that group (of players) and the manager in the next week.”
