Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia admits he didn’t agree with Louis van Gaal’s decision to play him as a central defender, despite Netherlands beating Belgium.
Malacia arrived at Old Trafford during the summer window and has instantly earned himself a starting berth in Erik ten Hag’s starting XI. The former Feyenoord star has managed to move ahead of Luke Shaw in the pecking order and has impressed in the opening weeks of his first Premier League season.
The 23-year-old also looks set to play a pivotal role for his nation at this winter’s World Cup, with his place on the plane to Qatar seemingly assured. And Malacia added another string to his bow on Sunday, as he helped the Oranje to an impressive 1-0 win over Belgium.
But rather than being deployed on the flank as usual, Malacia was lined up as one of three central defenders. With Van Gaal suggesting he was trialled in order to combat Kevin De Bruyne.
"Martins Indi won't make it [to the World Cup]," Van Gaal told ESPN NL. "I also wanted to see Malacia in that place, so [Nathan] Ake was substituted for Belgium. Because Martins Indi is not going to make it, I have to look at other players who can play there.
"I put him on the left of the central defence because De Bruyne played a lot on that side. It’s better to have a pitbull like that instead of someone like Blind who tries to solve it tactically.
He added: “De Bruyne has more acceleration than Blind as well so I put Malacia there. I had already discussed this with him the day before yesterday, that he could play as a left centre-back.”
But it wasn’t all plain sailing for Malacia, who was seen arguing with Van Gaal on the touchline during a break in play. And the United defender has opened up on the chat and some of the growing pains he went through in his new position.
“I went two or three times too much forward,” Malacia told reporters, as quoted by De Telegraaf. “That is not possible in this position as quickly. But I was corrected by others.
“I didn’t agree with it at the time, yes. That’s right. After the game we talked about that moment for a while and then it was over.” Van Gaal said: "The defensive work he did very well. But the constructive work in the build-up could have been a lot better."
Malacia was happy to fill in, but revealed he was happier with the role he has been given by his new club boss. “I’m comfortable with United at the moment. The national coach thinks that I should also be able to play in the centre of the defence. But I feel best on the left.”
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Malacia lined up with Virgil van Dijk at the back during the narrow win over Belgium in the Nations League. The Liverpool star was the matchwinner for Van Gaal’s side and said the win would give them renewed confidence going into next month’s tournament.
“It's nice that we win, although it wasn't a good game," Van Dijk explained. “We will win and that gives a good feeling, even though we have to do much better. Anyway, we play against Belgium. That's one of the best teams with a lot of good players. We had to work hard and run a lot. The most important thing is that we won.
“That's a great feeling to take with you to the World Cup. We go to Qatar with confidence. We are going to give everything there together, because we need everyone. Hopefully it will be a special World Cup.”
