Ange says of van de Ven, “He has no ceiling.”
After Micky van de Ven’s outstanding performance in our 3-1 Premier League victory over Palace on Saturday, Ange Postecoglou was all praise for the center back.
The Dutch international engaged Palace attacker Jean-Philippe Mateta in a full-on brawl, winning multiple one-on-one duels. In fact, according to Opta statistics, we won nine duels during the course of ninety minutes, as we rallied from a 1-0 deficit to win the Premier League match with three goals in the final 11 minutes.
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Two minutes after Timo Werner’s equalizer, Cuti Romero gave us the lead with a header, demonstrating the influence that Micky and his center defense partner made. With two minutes remaining, Heung-Min Son sprinted off to finish the comeback on a one-on-one opportunity.
Ange was informed during our review show that Mateta had put Micky through physical testing. “I have doubts about that,” Ange retorted. “I believe Mateta underwent a physical test!
“Micky has performed admirably the entire year, and his growth is evident in training. His physical prowess, maturity, and personal development have shown that he has no boundaries. Today, he was significant. We didn’t need to play deep defense because they intended to play onthe counterattack and there would be plenty of room, which is advantageous for him given his quick reflexes and tracking skills. I felt he was quite significant today.