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Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt has acknowledged that whereas he and his teammates went by a particularly powerful and disappointing 2024/25 season, there are nonetheless a couple of positives he can take from the expertise.
United completed a lowly fifteenth place within the Premier League desk, having suffered 18 defeats and amassed simply 42 factors.
The Pink Devils had the possibility to sneak into the Champions League by profitable the Europa League, however they blew it, choosing up a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur within the Europa League last.
De Ligt joined United final summer season from Bayern Munich, however his reunion with the previous Ajax boss solely lasted till October, as Ten Hag was sacked and changed by Ruben Amorim.
Instantly upon his arrival, Amorim applied a daring tactical shift, switching his facet to a three-man defence system.
De Ligt spoke to club media and opened up on Amorim’s formation and his contributions to the workforce. He particularly highlighted his satisfaction with the variety of video games he was in a position to play, given his earlier damage struggles, and the way seamlessly he has tailored to the back-three system.
Reflecting on his debut season in England, “Yeah, I feel I’m fairly glad. To begin with, as a result of I performed [over] 40 matches.”
“Now I’m injured, sadly, however I’ve been match for a lot of the season, in comparison with my final at Bayern, which was totally different. So, with that, I’m actually joyful. I feel I contributed additionally in a manner that may very well be pleased with.”
“Clearly, each time, it ought to be higher and, every single day, I’m coaching as onerous as potential to get higher and to assist the workforce much more.”
“However I imagine that you are able to do solely as a lot as you are able to do, so with that, I’m glad and hopefully, as I stated, we will develop much more as a workforce and as a bunch to turning into even higher subsequent season.”
On the back-three, De Ligt revealed, “For me, personally, clearly going from a two-man defence centre-back to a three-man defence, that’s clearly a change. So yeah, you modify the best way you play. The positions look the identical however they’re nonetheless fairly totally different.”
“So, yeah, it’s actually attention-grabbing for me to get this for the primary time in my profession: a coach who performs this method on a regular basis. I feel you extra you play in it, the extra you get used to it.”
“I may also say that, on this system, I’ve grown quite a bit as a participant, so I’m actually joyful for that.”
He added, “I feel I can adapt fast to methods, from what manner I’ve to play, so it was fairly okay. Clearly, with the workforce, to start with, it was a bit of bit totally different, as a result of we nonetheless needed to get used to the system, the best way we play.”
“So, personally, I felt fairly comfy, quickly after we applied the system however, as a workforce, clearly we needed to develop to get into the system and to turn out to be higher as a workforce. I’ve performed this method earlier than, it’s simply not that I’ve performed it each week. Generally, sure video games we performed with 5 within the again. With the nationwide workforce [the Netherlands], for instance, we performed a match with 5 within the again.”
“That’s what I like. I’ve grown up with 4 within the again so, for me, it was fairly totally different to play each week like this. However, proper now, I can say that I’m used to it and there are professionals and cons in each system. It’s the identical with this. However, till now, I like the best way I play and the best way I really feel within the system, in order that’s good.”
De Ligt made 42 appearances for United throughout all competitions and helped the workforce hold 11 clear sheets. He additionally scored two objectives in that interval.
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