Matthijs de Ligt opens up on private Erik ten Hag talks after 'unlucky' Man Utd sacking
Erik ten Hag was sacked by Manchester United at the end of October after a defeat at West Ham during which Matthijs de Ligt conceded a controversial late penalty
Manchester United centre-back Matthijs de Ligt has suggested Erik ten Hag didn't get the breaks he needed to keep his job at Old Trafford despite the Dutchmen sharing early dreams of success, while opening up on talks between the pair.
De Ligt starred under Ten Hag at Ajax as a teenager, and the pair were reunited over the summer. United moved quickly to snap up the defender after fellow summer signing Leny Yoro picked up an injury, and he impressed in a September victory at Southampton.
That was arguably as good as it got for Ten Hag in his third season, though. The 54-year-old was sacked at the end of October after a defeat at West Ham left United down in 14th, with just 11 points from nine matches.
West Ham's winner came via a controversial penalty which PGMOL chief Howard Webb later said was the wrong call. De Ligt was at the centre of the penalty incident, and the Dutch international has opened up about his compatriot's bad luck.
“Normally I am always self-critical and I can get annoyed about things that I do not do well. But here I could not do anything about it, I could not blame myself for it," De Ligt is quoted as saying by De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness ). "The referee committee also called us to say that it was not a penalty.”
That ended up being Ten Hag's farewell game, and De Ligt confirmed the pair had been in touch since the sacking. “A dismissal can always be quite hard. We discussed some things,” he said.
Reflecting on the conversations they had before De Ligt's arrival from Bayern Munich, the defender said: “He brought me to Manchester, the goal was to achieve success together with Erik.
"He has not been very lucky. We played well in many matches, but we did not use the chances we got. It is a shame that it has to end like this.”
Did Erik ten Hag deserve more time? Have your say in the comments section
United went unbeaten across four matches under interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy after Ten Hag's departure. However, with new head coach Ruben Amorim taking over on Monday, Van Nistelrooy has also left the club.
“I've seen many, many moments where players were struggling and he kept his faith in them,” captain Bruno Fernandes said in his assessment of new boss Amorim. “He always goes to the press conference and always defends their players, to give them the best opportunity to shine.
“He had a really youthful team, so they needed that, and hopefully when he comes here he can do the same again with the youth. “Us players with the most experience, we have to help him to get that and get the best out of every player at this club.”
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