Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has called out his international team-mate Matthijs de Ligt after his latest nightmare performance for the Netherlands.
Anfield’s defensive colossus urged new Manchester United centre-back De Ligt to step up his game after he was “punished” for yet another blunder. De Ligt, 25, first found himself in hot water after a noticeable slip-up during Holland’s 5-2 victory over Bosnia last week.
He managed to retain the trust of Dutch boss Ronald Koeman and kept his spot in the first XI against Germany. But his second outing turned sour as he played a part in goals by Denis Undav and Joshua Kimmich, culminating in getting hooked off for Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke at half-time.
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After witnessing his sides draw with Germany, Van Dijk, 33, didn’t mince words about De Ligt’s performance. He said: “This is football. You have to learn from this. It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it.”
Echoing the sentiment, Koeman conceded that despite his reluctance, substituting De Ligt was a move to shield him amid a run of costly errors. He said: “It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished. I gave him a new chance today, but eventually protected him by taking him off,” reports the Mirror.
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Koeman seemed to be getting a bit twitchy just days after trying to dampen the drama over De Ligt’s blunder against Bosnia and Herzegovina. After making a public call for improvement in the wake of that game, it appears his words haven’t quite hit home.
Speaking ahead of the clash with their bitter rivals Germany, Koeman said on Monday: “We talked about it briefly. That was focused on the goal. He is not in a good position. He did not come out well with his steps.
“It was an individual bad moment from a defender. You have to learn from that but also not be too dramatic about it. Don’t put too much emphasis on it.”
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Still, Koeman gave the lad some credit for his savvy ball work. “He also had very good moments on the ball,” he said. “That resulted in another big chance, when he played directly forward once. But it is clear that he also has to improve.”
With a £38m transfer tag hanging off him after his switch from Bayern Munich to Old Trafford, De Ligt’s looking to ditch the errors and shine at his new home, having been signed by struggling Erik ten Hag to shore up the United backline.
But after featuring in a crushing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool before the international break, up next for the Red Devils is a clash with Southampton this weekend.