Matthijs de Ligt lived the life of a new Manchester United player throughout the international break.
He could have done with positive headlines after making his first United start in a 3-0 home defeat by Liverpool. What transpired was the opposite.
Ronald Koeman hooked De Ligt at half-time in the Netherlands’ draw against Germany after a misplaced pass led to an equaliser. He then could not prevent the cross that assisted Germany going in front.
The centre-back partner who lost the scorer for that second goal was happy to shift the blame, which did not soothe the criticism.
As soon as you don that famous red shirt, you inherit the pressure that has caused many before him to fumble and falter. United’s new number four learned that the hard way across a difficult first month.
But De Ligt’s exploits in Saturday’s 3-0 victory at Southampton showcased the character and quality that bodes very well for his chances of succeeding after his £43m switch from Bayern Munich.
The 25-year-old first came up with a pinpoint header to break the deadlock at St Mary’s before playing a pivotal role in United’s second clean sheet of the campaign.
It was a performance so good it was easy to forget that Erik ten Hag has one of the world’s most exciting young defenders waiting in the wings to recover from a foot injury.
Once Leny Yoro is back in contention – expected to be by the end of 2024 – he will join De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire among the Premier League’s strongest centre-back departments.
De Ligt is no stranger to adversity, considering he has also represented arguably the biggest clubs in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.
Maybe for that reason, his reaction on the south coast should not be much of a surprise at all.
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