Tyrell Malacia gets a 1 after a dramatic loss of Manchester derby


Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 7:36 PM• Guy Habets • Last update: 19:41

Tyrell Malacia has been the target of criticism in England after Sunday afternoon’s Manchester derby. The left back was in the starting lineup at Manchester United, which lost 6-3 to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, and was replaced by manager Erik ten Hag at halftime. The British media thought that was the only right decision by De Tukker, as Malacia ‘played terribly’.

The Manchester Evening News rated all players and gave Malacia the lowest point: a 1. The fact that Phil Foden was given all the space and freedom, was heavily blamed on the left back. “When he didn’t have the ball, he was alarmingly distant from Foden and he never really came close to him. This first derby turned out badly for Malacia and he couldn’t do much good either.’ Antony got a 5 from the local newspaper, while Anthony Martial got the highest point with a 7.

The defender who came over from Feyenoord had a hard time, took a yellow card and threatened to be sent off the field before half time. That Ten Hag decided to take Malacia off at halftime was, according to the Daily Telegraph therefore perfectly logical. They gave the back a 4 and that was the lowest score of all the players on the field. “Malacia was never close to Foden and couldn’t get a grip on him. There was a red card coming because the defender simply had no idea what to do with his direct opponent.’

Finally it was also The Independent not soft in his assessment for the Dutch left wing defender. He got a 3, but that was not the lowest rating given by the English newspaper. Fellow back Diogo Dalot had to make do with a 2. ‘However, there was not much difference between the two’, it was concluded. Malacia ran everywhere he shouldn’t and was beaten up to speed with Foden’s second goal. These 45 minutes were too hard for him.’