Erik ten Hag has praised the performance of youngster Willy Kambwala in Man Utd’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday.
19-year-old Kambwala was drafted into the Man Utd starting lineup for just the second time in his short career this weekend, with Ten Hag being forced to play the youngster due to the injuries suffered by Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez and Jonny Evans.
Despite going up against one of the best forward lines in Europe, Kambwala more than held his own at Old Trafford on Sunday, making a number of notable defensive contributions throughout the eventual 2-2 draw.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Ten Hag was keen to praise the defender’s outing, stating that he deserved his chance due to recent performances in training: “He has been training a while with us and progressing well,” said Ten Hag.
“The next generation need to step in and he is doing brilliant. The challenge for him is doing it consistently.
“Great opportunity for him and we have other options like bringing Casemiro in at centre-half, but today he deserved it and he showed it on the pitch.”
Ten Hag also gave his assessment of the game itself, stating that he was “proud” of his team’s second half showing in the draw:
“On one side I am disappointed that we have dropped seven points in one week after being in winning positions, but we have to blame ourselves for making stupid mistakes.
“On the other side I am very proud. You see how we are improving and the potential of this squad is amazing – I am proud. In decisive areas we were losing battles especially with young players we were not confident to win them [duels].
“We encouraged in the second half to do better and they stepped up.”
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