I'LL SWITCH ON DE LIGT

Erik pins faith in £42m buy after Dutch horror show

- DAVID MCDONNELL

ERIK TEN HAG has defended Manchester United defender Matthijs De Ligt after his nightmare displays for Holland during the international break.

De Ligt, signed by United from Bayern Munich last month for £42m, was at fault for both goals conceded by Holland in their 2-2 Nations League draw with Germany.

The 25-year-old centre-back was replaced at half-time by Dutch boss Ronald Koeman, who said he made the decision to "protect" De Ligt from making further costly errors.

Those errors came three days after De Ligt made high-profile mistakes in Holland's 5-2 win over BosniaHerzegovina, with Koeman saying: "It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished."

Reacting to Koeman's criticism of De Ligt, Ten Hag said: "I think he said it in reference to the Dutch squad, not a club situation.