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Despite playing some impressive football on the day and creating numerous chances, Manchester United fell just short and lost 7-6 via penalty shoot-out against Manchester City in the Community Shield on Saturday.
The curtain-raiser ended 1-1 at the end of regulation time with Alejandro Garnacho giving the Red Devils the lead before Bernardo Silva equalised late on.
Erik ten Hag will be disappointed and rightly so as his team could have scored at least four goals with Marcus Rashford missing quite a few presentable chances.
United were forced to start Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire at the back as Leny Yoro is scheduled to be out for a few months while Victor Lindelof is not match-fit.
CB criticism
The England international was subbed off early due to a minor injury and that is exactly why INEOS decided to splash the cash to land Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt.
However, former club legend Rio Ferdinand is not particularly enthused with the signing due to the centre-back’s poor injury record in the recent past.
The Netherlands international missed 20 games through injury last season due to four different issues and his form in general, since leaving Ajax, has not been something to write home about.
He has not been a bonafide starter at both Bayern and Juventus and he did not play a single minute for his country in the recent European Championships after losing his place due to lack of minutes at club-level.
“He’s had a lot of injuries, hasn’t started many games over the last two or three years and Man United are spending £45-50 million on him. Is he going to come into Man United and make a difference?
De Ligt’s tough challenge
“I think it’s a big ask for him and all eyes are going to be on him. Big pressure, big opportunity for him, but there’s a lot of uncertainty I think with this signing because of his previous seasons with two big clubs (Juventus and Bayern Munich) not going as well as we’d have anticipated,” Ferdinand explained on his YouTube channel.
Similar concerns were raised by Paul Scholes as well and as per the former England defender, De Ligt needs to remind the world why he was one of the most sought-after defenders a few years ago.
“I don’t think he’s the answer, but it’s a great opportunity for him to go in there and go ‘You know what guys? I’m going to rectify my last couple of seasons. That’s not the real me, and I’m going to show you.”
De Ligt needs to hit the ground running as soon as he lands in Manchester and with Yoro not available, United’s early season form will be dependant on how the manager’s protege performs.
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