Matthijs de Ligt hailed Bayern Munich for their “unbelievable” performance against Bochum but admitted he wants to be playing more for the team.
The Netherlands international made his debut appearance for Bayern in their resounding 7-0 away victory, scoring the club’s second goal to open his account.
De Ligt, who was acquired from Juventus, started the season’s opening Bundesliga game and the German Super Cup triumph against RB Leipzig from the bench. His early opportunities were restricted because, as of the weekend, he had played just eight minutes of league action.
De Ligt was given the opportunity on Sunday, and he capitalized on it by scoring in Bayern’s blowout to finish off his performance. Later, he made it obvious that he wanted to start more games, despite the stiff competition he faced.
He said:
“It’s unbelievable, we scored five goals in the first half. It was important that we kept our focus throughout the game.
“I’m very happy to have scored my first goal. We need to carry on this way.
“Of course every player always wants to play. But I understood the situation. I came here as a new player from Juventus and [Dayot] Upamecano and [Theo] Hernandez played well. But of course I want to play.”
Julian Nagelsmann was pleased by the performance of his new defensive acquisition and praised the display of the back-line, who have conceded just once in the opening three fixtures.
Nagelsmann said:
“[De Ligt] got the news early that he was going to play. With the injury on his hand, it was difficult for him but he played well.
“In the first half, two or three times he left his position a bit too early, so there was a chance for Bochum – he pulled away a bit too easy sometimes.
“Overall, he played well. It’s always great for a defence, who were criticised last year, to finish a game without any goals against, a clean sheet.
“I think our defensive midfield was very strong today as well. Sometimes last year, we played a little bit too much, were a little bit too complicated. We’re happy that we had a clean sheet.”
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