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Matthijs de Ligt believes Manchester United are “growing as a team” under Ruben Amorim with the Dutch defender revealing just how “important” the victory over Manchester City last weekend was for the squad’s belief.
Speaking to United Review ahead of Sunday’s match against AFC Bournemouth, De Ligt was keen to stress the value of the win at the Etihad, given the struggles United have faced against their rivals in recent years.
“I read a stat that it’s a long time ago that United won against a top-six team [away] in the last years,” the 25-year-old said.
“So I think to get this belief into the team, into the guys that: ‘Hey, we are United – of course we can win against teams where you normally should win, but we can also win against teams that are, on paper, maybe at the moment a little bit stronger or further in their development.”
De Ligt had played in every single of United’s matches since Amorim’s appointment in November until illness ruled him out of Thursday night’s Carabao Cup quarter final against Tottenham Hotspur.
The match ultimately saw the Red Devils succumb to a disappointing 4-3 defeat, despite an overall positive performance.
The game was characterised by a series of chaotic blunders in defence by both teams, though Amorim will have been privately rueing his Dutch centre-back being side lined as he watched his defenders struggle with the Spurs attack.
It is still the early period of Amorim’s tenure, however. Teething problems are expected, especially given the implementation of his trademark 3-4-3 system – a set-up unfamiliar to many of United’s squad.
Which is why De Ligt believes the win over City will help imbue the dressing room with the confidence that they are on the right path, and results will continue to improve as they learn the new system better.
“I think the most important thing is that we are growing as a team. You feel that [and] I think you see it on the pitch as well,” the Dutch international observes.
“There were some results in the last couple of games that could have been better but the feeling in the group is that we’re growing as a team and we’re starting to understand a bit more the way the trainer wants us to play. I think we also start to understand each other better in the system.
“That’s the most important thing: that you always try to keep growing. If you win games without growing, you will not become the best version of yourself. I think the focus in the first weeks was on growing, then you see the results will slowly come. Hopefully we can build on that and start getting better results.”
Amorim will be hoping his central defender has recovered fully from illness for tomorrow’s game as De Ligt will prove key to this process of “getting better results.”
Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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