Virgil van Dijk has issued his verdict following Matthijs de Ligt’s stinker for the Netherlands during their Nations League clash with Germany.
De Ligt suffered an evening to forget in Amsterdam, with the Manchester United defender deemed to be at fault for both Germany goals in the 2-2 clash.
His horror show began late in the first half when a stray pass allowed the visitors to counter-attack, with ex-Brighton man Deniz Undav eventually tucking home from inside the penalty area.
But things would get worse for De Ligt before the break, this time the ex-Ajax man falling to clear at the front post, with Joshua Kimmich ghosting into the box and firing Germany ahead.
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De Ligt’s blushes would be spared in the second half when Denzel Dumfries levelled things up for the hosts, but by then it was too late, given the centre-back had already been hooked by manager Ronald Koeman at half-time.
It was a performance that sparked plenty of hysteria in the Netherlands, with Van Dijk quizzed about his countryman’s showing during a post-match interview.
Serving up a blunt assessment, the Liverpool skipper 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.”
While boss Koeman also admitted things aren’t going the way of the 25-year-old right now, adding: “Of course I would rather have kept Matthijs de Ligt on the pitch. It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished.
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“I gave him a new chance today, but eventually protected him by taking him off.”
It marked the end of a testing international break for De Ligt, who had also been criticised for his performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina over the weekend.
Responding to the critics, De Ligt said on Saturday: “I think you know how I feel… we won… but then comes the individual part. I should have done better at their second goal, and I know that.
“I don’t really know what happened. I should have cleared the ball but I kept having doubts during the play. It’s just f****d.”
It’s out of the frying pan into the fire for De Ligt, who returns to action for the under-pressure United later this week, as the Red Devils look to arrest their poor start to the campaign.
De Ligt featured in both of United’s recent Premier League defeats, with the Red Devils set to travel down to Southampton on Saturday for the midday kick-off.
