Erik Ten Hag's Problem Ahead Of MU Vs Southampton: Ronaldo's Criticism And De Ligt's Bad Performance

Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt in team training. (X/@ManUtd)

JAKARTA - Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag, faced serious problems when he returned from the competition holiday. Former Manchester United star, Cristiano Ronaldo, criticized Ten Hag.

Meanwhile, centre-back Matthijs de Ligt was in the spotlight after playing poorly while strengthening the Dutch national team at the 2024/2025 UEFA Nations League.

Ten Hag brought a tough problem during the competition holidays. The embarrassing 0-3 defeat of the most hated opponent, Liverpool, at home clearly left a bad record for this Dutch manager.

Moreover, previously, MU also lost 1-2 when visiting Brighton and Hove Albion headquarters.

In the aftermath, MU immediately stranded at the bottom. Bruno Fernandes and colleagues can only watch the one-city rivals Manchester City fly away with Liverpool and Arsenal.

On the other hand, they only hope not to score a hat trick of defeat when they play an away match against Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium, Saturday, September 14, 2024, evening WIB.

Despite taking the bottom position and not being able to get points, Soton remains a threat to the Red Devils. Performance did not convince MU to make the club legend, Ronaldo, concerned. According to him, MU really had to rebuild the squad.

"They need to rebuild everything from scratch. MU is still one of the largest clubs in the world. However, they still need total change. That's all that has to be done," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by Sport Mole.

Not only that, Ronaldo also openly criticized Ten Hag who felt unable to compete for the Premier League title. Previously, the former Ajax Amsterdam coach stated that MU was "still far away" to be said to be ready to win the Premier League.

"Managers say they (MU) are still not able to compete to win the league or Champions League. You are MU manager. You cannot say you are unable to win the league or Champions League," said Ronaldo.

"You may not have the potential (to become a champion). However, you shouldn't say anything like that. You should have said we would try and you should try," he said again.

Ronaldo's criticism through the Rio Ferdinand podcast, the former Manchester United defender, shows the team needs improvement. The match against The Saint could actually be the beginning of the rise of the Red Devils.

However, the team is still not free from trouble. Defender Matthijs de Ligt is in the spotlight after playing poorly in the two UEFA Nations League matches. In fact, the umpteenth blunder against Germany made coach Ronald Koeman withdraw.

Koeman stated that he wanted to save De Ligt so as not to lose confidence when he returned to the club. Moreover, he became MU's hope to build a team defense that was still fragile.

"I actually hope he stays in the field. The reason is that he entered a period where his mistakes made us concede," said Koeman.

"I still gave him the opportunity (in the second match). However, I had to protect him by pulling him out," he said.

The captain of the Dutch national team, Virgil van Dijk, also protects his juniors. However, the Liverpool player who brought the Reds to kill United at Old Trafford hoped De Ligt would learn from his mistakes.

"That's football. You have to learn from that mistake. In a moment at the highest level, if you make a mistake, you will concede," said Van Dijk.

The mentality side will be De Ligt's problem when he returns to the club. Could Ten Hag return to lowering De Ligt as a starter against Soton or return him to the bench.

If the former Juventus and Bayern Munich defender sits on the bench, Leandro Martinez will have a duet with Harry Maguire.

However, Martinez will face fitness problems after strengthening Argentina in two 2026 World Cup Qualification matches in the South American Zone.

It's not an easy matter for Ten Hag. Not to mention the Brazil duo, Casemiro and Antony, who are rumored to be leaving MU. Turkish clubs, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, have targeted the two players.