“Have that all you haters” - Mark Goldbridge blasts Manchester United star’s critics after win against Southampton
Mark Goldbridge celebrated Matthijs de Ligt's first Manchester United goal by hitting out at recent criticism of the Dutch defender. The Red Devils' summer signing was on the scoresheet in a 3-0 away win at Southampton on Saturday (September 14).
De Ligt rose highest in the 35th minute to head his side in front against the run of play at St Mary's. He opened his account for his new club to bounce back from a difficult international break with the Netherlands where he made a glaring mistake.
Goldbridge showed his support for the under-fire 25-year-old by taking aim at critics. The YouTuber and United fan wrote on X:
"De Ligt!!!! Have that all you haters with your s**t headlines."
De Ligt joined Manchester United from Bayern Munich in August for an initial fee of £38.6 million. This came after a struggling period with the Bavarians who surrendered the Bundesliga title for the first time in over a decade.
The experienced center-back reunited with Erik ten Hag whom he played under at Ajax. He appeared in all three of United's games prior to the win at St Mary's.
However, there was speculation regarding whether De Ligt would start because of a disappointing outing with the Netherlands midweek. Ronald Koeman brought him off at halftime after his error led to Deniz Undav equalizing in their UEFA Nations League clash with Germany which finished 2-2.
The Dutch media and Koeman were scathing of De Ligt's performances for Oranje. He's responded with a goal on his return to club football with Ten Hag's Red Devils.
"It's not good enough" - Matthijs de Ligt on Manchester United's important win against Southampton
Manchester United had made a worrisome start to the Premier League campaign until their victory against the Saints. They started the season with a 1-0 victory at home to Fulham but suffered defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion (2-1) and Liverpool (3-0).
De Ligt, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho ensured United got back to winning ways. Red Devils goalkeeper Andre Onana saved Cameron Archer's penalty and Jack Stephens received a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Garnacho.
The Dutch defender spoke to TNT Sports after the game and stressed the importance of getting all three points:
"It was really important. If you get three points out of three games it's not enough so there was some pressure on this game but I think we played very well."
Manchester United moved up to eighth in the league with their win and relieved some of the pressure growing on Ten Hag. They are next in action on Tuesday (September 17) when they face EFL League One side Barnsley in the third round of the Carabao Cup.