Donny van de Beek got his first base place this season at Manchester United on Tuesday evening, but that was not an undivided success. The midfielder was taken off by interim coach Michael Carrick after 66 minutes in the away game against Villarreal in the Champions League, after which Bruno Fernandes came on the field. The Dutchman saw from the bench how Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho turned the game in Eastern Spain in the last twelve minutes: 0-2. The newspapers in England have their reservations about Van de Beek.
was the hardest The Sun. “Perhaps Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was right after all,” the tabloid refers to the trainer fired last weekend, who apparently never really saw the ex-Ajacied for a year and a half. “There was little to see in Spain that proved the contrary. If this should have been the match that Van de Beek could finally have left his mark on, it was far from a success. If we stay nice, we’ll call him a hard worker.”
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“But you expect more from someone who has cost 40 million euros and who is according to some supporters one of the best midfielders in Europe. Much more even. Van de Beek’s performance was just as pale as himself. It is no coincidence that United came alive after his substitution and still came out on top with goals from Ronaldo and Sancho. Van de Beek does not enforce such things, it is as simple as that.”
The Manchester Evening News gives Van de Beek a pass, a six, but the newspaper did not find the performance convincing. “Van de Beek led the pressure in the first half, but as soon as Manchester United themselves came under pressure, Van de Beek also slowly disappeared from the game.” At the Daily Mail there was no more than a 5 for Van de Beek. “He was regularly ignored by Solskjaer, but against Villarreal Van de Beek seemed to be on a different wavelength than his teammates.”
The Independent Van de Beek also rated with a 5. “Much was expected of Van de Beek after his good substitute against Watford. But he barely touched the ball in the first half and when he did, he did little with it. A brash tackle earned him a yellow card.” The newspapers in England therefore seem to have little confidence in playing time for Van de Beek in the upcoming top duels with Chelsea (away) and Arsenal (home).
Carrick declined to take credit afterwards, even though Manchester United had won in his debut as interim manager. His mind was more with Solskjaer. “The past few days have not been easy for anyone in the club. It feels like we got this result for Ole. This is not an important result for me personally, but for the club and the players. It’s not about me tonight at all.”
“These were emotional days. The first person I spoke to when this was all set in motion was Ole himself,” the Norwegian’s former right-hand man emphasized. “I wanted to know what he was like because it felt like I had to. It is now my responsibility to manage this team and I am very proud of that.” With Atalanta’s win and draw at Young Boys (3-3) Manchester United is already certain of group victory. The English will close the group stage on December 8 against the Young Boys.