Virgil van Dijk has urged his Netherlands teammate, Matthijs de Ligt, to elevate his performance and learn from his recent mistakes following a tough September international break.
The Manchester United defender has struggled during this period, leading captain Van Dijk to call for improvement. De Ligt, who featured in the Netherlands’ game against Bosnia last week, appeared off form.
Despite this, Ronald Koeman kept faith in the former Bayern Munich defender, starting him in the 2-2 draw against Germany on Tuesday.
However, De Ligt endured another difficult outing, as his error allowed Denis Undav to score and he was also at fault for Joshua Kimmich’s goal. As a result, Koeman replaced him at halftime with Jan Paul van Hecke.
Speaking after the final whistle, Virgil van Dijk offered some advice to his teammate, Matthijs de Ligt, cautioning him to learn from his mistakes.
“This is football. You have to learn from this. It was one moment, but at the highest level, you will get punished for it,” Van Dijk said.
Head coach Ronald Koeman also explained why he made the decision to substitute De Ligt at halftime. “Of course, I would have preferred to keep Matthijs de Ligt on the pitch,” Koeman stated.
“It just seems like he’s going through a phase where all his mistakes are being punished. I gave him another chance today, but ultimately, I protected him by taking him off.”
De Ligt will now focus on regaining form with Manchester United, who face Southampton this weekend. The defender has made three appearances for the Red Devils since his £38 million move from Bayern Munich.
