Matthijs de Ligt has called on his Manchester United team-mates to take greater responsibility for the club’s alarming start to the season, insisting manager Ruben Amorim’s tactical approach is not the root of their problems.
United slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Brentford on Saturday, leaving them 14th in the Premier League table with just seven points from six matches.
The result extended their miserable away run to eight league games without victory; their worst streak on the road since 2019.
Amorim’s adherence to his favoured 3-4-3 formation has drawn criticism, but De Ligt believes United’s struggles have more to do with lapses in concentration than tactical rigidity.
“Of course, it’s always easy to look to the manager but, in the end, the players on the pitch have to do it,” the defender said. “You guys always talk about the system. That also has a lot to do with focus, concentration and, if that’s lacking in key moments, it’s going to make a difference.”
Since Amorim’s arrival last November, United have conceded the opening goal 21 times in the league – more than any other club. Over the same period, only Tottenham (33) have picked up fewer points than United’s 34 among ever-present Premier League sides.
The latest defeat followed a week in which United edged Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford but were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Manchester City, and embarrassingly knocked out of the EFL Cup by League Two side Grimsby Town on penalties.
“If you lose this game, it’s a big blow, obviously,” De Ligt admitted. “A lot of times, it is the same song, but we have to stick together. That’s the most important thing… for the next game, we have to analyse what went wrong, because a lot of things went wrong.”
