Jamie Carragher tears into one Man United star after Tottenham as Erik ten Hag approach ridiculed

Jamie Carragher has heavily criticised Matthijs de Ligt after his role in Manchester United's porous defence against Tottenham on Sunday. The defender was part of Erik ten Hag's disjointed backline as they were played through with ease throughout the game.

Having been caught out of position for Brennan Johnson's early opener, which came from a marauding Micky van de Ven run through the middle of the pitch, Carragher couldn't believe De Ligt's methods for dealing with the Spurs attack. Former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter was more appreciative of the quality that went into building the opportunity.

"From a Tottenham perspective I think it's a wonderful goal, the way he [Van de Ven] attacks the space here is incredible," he said on Monday Night Football. Carragher couldn't work out De Ligt's logic to leaving room on his right for Van de Ven to stroll into though.

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"Yeah, I noticed this a little bit with De Ligt and a lot of centre-backs," he started. "I don't understand why they don't defend the space and they come over. I see this so much.

"The striker [Dominic Solanke] just behind him has got nothing to do with him. That is [Lisandro] Martinez's job, De Ligt goes over, Martinez comes across. Now, again, you actually look at it and he's looking over his shoulders there. Forget that! Forget it!

"This is a brilliant run, it's amazing. Van de Ven runs because he sees the space. And listen, the full-back [Diogo Dalot] gets caught out at the back post, you can see him with his hand up again."

Unfortunately for De Ligt and Ten Hag, this was far from the only occasion their opponents