Donny van de Beek should not open the Daily Express today

Donny van de Beek did not impress the press in England on Wednesday evening. The Manchester United midfielder participated for an hour in the lost Champions League match against Istanbul Basaksehir (2-1), before he was taken to the side by trainer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Daily Express devotes an article to Van de Beek’s performance in the Thursday edition of the newspaper.

“The defeat of Manchester United proves that Patrice Evra is right about Donny van de Beek”, the British tabloid headlines after the final whistle. Journalist Ryan Taylor refers in the article to the statement Evra made on Saturday: the former left back of Manchester United stated that the club ‘does not need Van de Beek’. Daily Express mentions Van de Beek a square peg in a round hole, an English expression to indicate someone who is out of place: a square block that must fit in a circle. “His performance against Istanbul Basaksehir will not increase his chances of playing time.”

“Fortunately for the Dutchman, the whole of Manchester United was a drama, from the first to the eleventh player,” the newspaper emphasizes. “It does not seem likely that his performance will be specifically put under a magnifying glass by Solskjaer.” The Daily Express adds, however, that Van de Beek has not impressed as a base player in the Champions League in two consecutive games; last week he played 67 minutes in the home game against RB Leipzig (5-0). Van de Beek played well then, but Manchester United really turned well after he was replaced by competitor Bruno Fernandes.

Donny van de Beek still has to practice his English!

“Van de Beek is an attacking midfielder by nature, who can flourish as number 10 or number 8. But with Bruno Fernandes in the team, Solskjaer Van de Beek has to fit in artificially and put him in a position where he does not belong. to play “, says the scribe. “Against Istanbul Basaksehir, he played from the side in a diamond in midfield. It seemed he was unfamiliar with that role. There is no doubt that Van de Beek is a top player, as he has proved at Ajax, but for Manchester. United, he does not seem like the right man. Although he should add technique and insight into the game, he lacked ideas and confidence in Istanbul.

Van de Beek’s role can be explained in several ways. On its own website, Manchester United states that he had to form a block with Nemanja Matic in the center of midfield and that he operated in a box-to-boxrole, but Solskjaer found that the game sometimes passed him by. “Sometimes I got the feeling that the whole team was playing too much on the left flank,” Solskjaer said on the club site. “We left too much space on the right. Donny showed his qualities after his arrival, but has today (Wednesday, March) ed.) didn’t really get the chance to excel. ” In the English newspapers The Sun in The Independent Van de Beek gets a five for his performance. They both conclude that the Dutchman could not leave his mark on the game. The Manchester Evening News awards Van de Beek a lower mark with a four.

Solskjaer explains why he took Van de Beek to the side in the second half. “We had to make some tactical changes towards the end of the game and therefore brought in some new players”, the troubled coach refers to the entrance of Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani after an hour of play; At that moment Van de Beek and Mata were taken to the side. With an extra attacker in the team, Manchester United hoped to come alongside, but that did not work. Although Van de Beek was replaced, Solskjaer is pleased with his performance. “Donny was good at the ball and showed that he had insight into the game.”

View the summary of Basaksehir – Manchester United here

The disappointment after the defeat dominates with the summer acquisition that came over from Ajax. “I have to admit that I am very disappointed. We played well in the first ten minutes, but then we gave away a goal. I don’t know how”, he says. Istanbul Basaksehir took the lead in the thirteenth minute of the match. Bruno Fernandes took a short corner for Manchester United, but the visitors lost the ball around the enemy penalty area. A long ball from Edin Visca ended up with Demba Ba, who took the ball on the center line. He was behind the full defense of Manchester United, was able to push towards goalkeeper Dean Henderson and made it 1-0.

“After that moment we lost confidence. We can play much better football”, says Van de Beek, who does not want to point to Mata or other specific teammates after the defeat. In general, he thinks the front line could have created more danger. “We are a team and everyone has responsibility. After the goal from Martial I got the feeling that there was a lot of room to create something, but we did not create many opportunities today. For them it was a nice victory, but for us it is “It’s very disappointing. We are Manchester United and we need to show more.”