Erik ten Hag was delighted with Matthijs de Ligt following Manchester United’s win over Southampton.
The defender endured a difficult international break during which he was heavily criticised for making mistakes for the Netherlands but scored in United’s 3-0 win on the south coast on Saturday.
Saints had bossed most of the game in the first half and were offered the chance to take the lead from the penalty spot after Diogo Dalot brought down Tyler Dibling. Andre Onana, however, then saved a tame effort from Cameron Archer before De Ligt opened the scoring with a header after a recycled corner.
Marcus Rashford would add a second before the break and Alejandro Garnacho scored a late third after the hosts lost Jack Stephens to a red card.
Speaking of De Ligt, Ten Hag told BBC Sport: "I'm not surprised. At this moment he is not fit, he's not at 100% speed. He needs the games to go up to it.
“We see glimpses now and once he's there he will do much better. We are happy with him and especially today with his game."
There was concern, however, as both De Ligt and central defensive partner Lisandro Martinez were forced off towards the end of the game.
"We had internationals early in the season, some are short in the pre-season, some come from intercontinental flights then when you have a 12:30 kick-off, you can struggle,” added the United boss.
“Hopefully it's nothing serious and we have to assess today and tomorrow."
