Matthijs de Ligt claims sacked Erik ten Hag ‘was ‘unlucky’ and says Man Utd ‘played well in many matches’

MATTHIJS DE LIGT claims Erik ten Hag was “unlucky” to be sacked by Manchester United and reckons his side “played well in many matches.”

De Ligt, 25, joined United from Bayern Munich in July and quickly established himself as a first-team regular in defence.

The Dutch centre-back has already clocked up 15 appearances in all competitions.

And fans have been impressed with his solid performances at the back.

However, De Ligt was unable to prevent his former Ajax manager Ten Hag from slumping to United’s worst-ever Premier League start.

The gaffer won just three of his opening nine matches in the new season.

While United also drew their first three matches of the Europa League campaign.

The turning point for Ten Hag came when United lost 2-1 at West Ham last month.

The Carabao Cup and FA Cup winner was quickly given his marching orders, with Ruud van Nistelrooy becoming interim boss ahead of Ruben Amorim’s appointment from Sporting Lisbon.

But De Ligt feels Ten Hag was unfortunate to be axed, claiming United actually played quite well in games where results went against them.

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He told De Telegraaf: “Ten Hag bought me to Manchester, the goal was to achieve success together with him.

“He has not been very lucky. We played well in many matches but we did not use the chances we got.

“It’s a shame it has to end like this. A dismissal can always be quite hard, we discussed some things.”

De Ligt also insisted that West Ham’s fateful winning penalty, which he gave away, should not have stood. 

He continued: “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. The referee committee also called us to say that it was not a penalty.”

United are now looking forward to a new era under former Sporting Lisbon boss Amorim.

He played a 3-4-3 system in Portugal, and De Ligt could get a starring role in the heart of defence.

He added: “Amorim did well at Sporting, hopefully he can also take us to the next level.

“Amorim is not my first coach and he will not be my last. I did not only move to Untied for Ten Hag. It is still one of the biggest clubs in the world, I think.

“I just have to do my own thing and play well myself. I feel really fit now and things are going well. Hopefully I can continue that.”