Ruben Amorim clarifies De Ligt’s distinct role at Manchester United

Coach Ruben Amorim stated that Matthijs de Ligt remains a leader at Manchester United, even though the Dutch defender was not included in the leadership group established last summer.

In the 2-2 draw against Tottenham in the Premier League, Manchester United conceded the first goal in the 32nd minute from a precise header into the top corner by Bryan Mbeumo, assisted skillfully by Amad Diallo. In the second half, Senne Lammens made two outstanding saves to keep United resilient under pressure. However, the Red Devils collapsed in the final minutes after conceding two consecutive goals to Tottenham.

Manuel Ugarte and De Ligt made errors leading to Mathys Tel’s equalizer, but the 1999-born defender redeemed himself with a powerful header in the 90+6 minute, preserving a point for the Old Trafford side. Nevertheless, De Ligt is still not part of Manchester United’s leadership group this season. When speaking to the press, coach Amorim explained: “We have our own selections. Some players lead through their style of play and there are alsothose who take on leadership roles in every activity at Carrington.”

According to MEN, the Portuguese manager aims to create diversity in leadership styles: “I am trying to build a leadership group with different kinds of influence. But ultimately, everyone must be a leader and support each other. De Ligt is performing very well: strong, defensively impressive. He also handles the ball better than what has been shown; he is just trying to avoid mistakes. Once everything settles, our three center-backs will control the tempo and quality of the game.”

Commenting on Manchester United’s performance, Amorim was frank: “We still have many issues. It’s only the beginning and there’s much to improve. You can break the match down to the last 10 minutes: substituting Harry Maguire and Casemiro at once, then conceding two goals, losing Ben... Playing with 10 men for 10 minutes and then rallying to equalize is a positive sign.”

Although praising the fighting spirit, Amorim expressed dissatisfaction with his players’ loss of focus: “We were too relaxed, while the three points were within reach. You must feel the atmosphere and be more aggressive. Just one moment can change everything.”

Comparing to the previous match against Nottingham Forest, Amorim remarked: “Today was different; the team had more energy and better control. But just one play, one cross, one big chance... and they scored.”

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