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Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt has allayed fears that he sustained an injury during his side’s comfortable 3-0 win over Southampton.
De Ligt opened the scoring for United just two minutes after Andre Onana saved Cameron Archer’s penalty. The defender rose highest to head in a delicious cross from Bruno Fernandes.
Marcus Rashford’s sensational curling finish just before the break all but sealed the victory for United, who brilliantly overcame a difficult start to the match.
Alejandro Garnacho came on from the bench to grab United’s third of the match and in the process, ensure there was no doubt whatsoever about which way the victory was going.
Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire appeared to have picked up injuries and concerns among United fans heightened even more after De Ligt was seemingly taken off with an issue of his own.
However, according to the Netherlands international himself, it’s nothing serious and he was only nursing a touch of cramp.
He told the media (via Metro), “I’m fine I just had a little bit of cramp the last five minutes. It’s the first time I think in five months that I played three times in a row.”
“I wanted to play until the end but the coach said it would be better to take me off.”
De Ligt endured a torrid two weeks during the international break, as he faced intense criticism and scrutiny for his mistake-strewn performances with the Dutch national team.
The 25-year-old made extremely costly defensive mistakes in the Netherlands’ two matches against Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany respectively. He was hooked off at half-time vs. Germany.
However, Erik ten Hag kept faith in the player he worked with at Ajax and the decision certainly paid dividends.
Asked about how he dealt with the criticism, De Ligt remarked, “Not exactly a point to prove, sometimes it doesn’t go as well as you want but you have to look at the positive side.”
“I was happy I played one and a half, it’s a long time since I played games. This is my third game in a week. For me it’s important to get rhythm and I can show a little more what I can do.”
He will be hoping to get another start on Tuesday when United meet Barnsley in the third round of the EFL Cup.
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