Erik ten Hag receives Matthijs De Ligt 'cannot continue' warning as Man United defender struggles
Manchester United defender Matthijs De Ligt has endured a difficult international break while playing for the Netherlands.
The 25-year-old arrived at Old Trafford this summer from Bayern Munich for €45million (£38.4m) with a potential further €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons. De Ligt has made three appearances for Erik ten Hag's side so far and started United's last game - a 3-0 defeat at home to Liverpool.
And the centre-back endured a difficult evening whilst playing for the Netherlands against Germany in the Nations League. The former Ajax star was replaced at half-time after having a hand in both of Germany's first-half goals in Amsterdam.
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De Ligt's struggles on Tuesday night have since seen him receive a scathing verdict in the Dutch media. The centre-back was given a 5/10 by Dutch media site Football Oranje.com.
"Was given another chance but again made an error that led to a goal before being substituted early in the second half," they said. "He cannot continue making errors like this."
Explaining his decision to take De Ligt off at half-time against Germany, Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman claimed it was to protect the Man United centre-back. “Of course I would rather have kept [Matthijs de Ligt] on the pitch," he told Dutch broadcaster NOS.
“It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished. I gave him a new chance today but eventually, I protected him by taking him off."
Koeman also had his say on De Ligt's performance during their 5-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday where the United defender made mistakes as well. "We have discussed it," Koeman said in his press conference on Monday before the 2-2 draw against Germany.
"He did not get his footwork right. It was a bad individual moment for a defender. You have to learn from that, it is clear that these kinds of moments need to be improved. But we should not be dramatic about it and put too much emphasis on it."