Liverpool defender, Virgil van Dijk has reportedly demanded improvement from Matthijs de Ligt after he made another costly error for the Netherlands.
After being included in the Netherlands squad for the Nations League, the Manchester United defender has had a terrible international fortnight.
The 25-year-old made a howler during the Netherlands’ 5-2 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina over the weekend.
Ronald Koeman, the team’s manager, continued to believe in De Ligt, as he started Tuesday’s 2-2 draw against Germany. But for the former Bayern Munich star, it was just another terrible evening.
His costly mistake led Denis Undav to level the score. He was also at fault for Joshua Kimmich’s goal. As a result, Koeman subbed on Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke for De Ligt at half time.
According to the Liverpool Echo, following the full-time whistle, Van Dijk made his feelings clear to the United man.
The Liverpool star 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.”
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Koeman gave an explanation for why he felt obliged to take De Ligt out during the break, agreeing with Van Dijk’s judgment of the player’s error. “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. I gave him a new chance today, but eventually protected him by taking him off.”
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