Manchester United secured a 2-1 away win over Liverpool, claiming back-to-back league victories. After the match, United centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, who performed 出色 in the game, talked about related topics in an interview with Camel Live.
On the win over Liverpool
To be honest, it was tough, especially with many of our players returning from international duty to prepare for a game of this level. The whole team only had two or three days of joint training, but the teammates who stayed behind, including me... the atmosphere in our final days of preparation was really good.
Even the players who wouldn’t start, you could feel the energy they passed on to the starters—because anyone could be the key man in the game at any time. Look at the substitutes who came on today; they helped us hold on to the win and even pushed for another goal. I’m proud of all the players and staff.
On the reason for beating Liverpool
We knew Liverpool had a weakness, and that’s their full-backs. We were all really fired up on the pitch, and our focus was sharp—this kind of game demands your full concentration.
On external discussions about your formation and system
Our formation is always a focus of external discussion. So talking about our formation when we lose is very inaccurate, and it’s not absolute to talk about it when we win either.
We always believe in this system, whether we win or lose. It’s about doing the right things at the right moments. We had to suffer in the game, but we had to trust that what we prepared for the game would bring us victory.
On the dressing room atmosphere after beating Liverpool
The emotion in the dressing room was indescribable. It took us nearly a decade to finally win at Anfield again. Obviously, I’m proud of everyone involved—players, coaching staff, everyone on the bench. It’s a wonderful feeling, a beautiful day for us and the fans, and everyone deserves to enjoy this moment.
When asked if this was the most important win of his United career
"Maybe you could say that, considering the special moment we’re in—we came away with the pressure of a winning streak, and the opponents are going through a tough time. This kind of game is unpredictable, but the winner takes the initiative. But I don’t want to get too excited because we have to keep going next week. We hope to maintain this excellent momentum."
"If we don’t keep winning, it means nothing. We need to do this every week. We know the demands of this club are very high. Everyone finds back-to-back wins surprising, but we have to focus on the next game. It’s great to win, moving closer to where we want to be in the standings."
"At a club like United, you’re always expected to win consecutively. What matters is making sure we believe we have that ability. We know our strength, but we need to prove it on the pitch—and beating an opponent like Liverpool is the best way to prove it to United fans and players. Today is a great day for the club; we’ve been through a lot of difficulties, but this moment is worth enjoying."
On dealing with external public opinion
"This is part of the job. I’ve been here long enough to know everyone will talk about United. You have to be ready—playing for the world’s biggest club means being ready to take criticism and praise. The key is how you present yourself and work day in and day out. Sometimes—especially this season—we’ve trained well at Carrington, but the results haven’t been there."
“External people don’t see that daily effort; they only judge based on weekend performances. So we have to win games—that should be our mindset.”
