Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has urged Matthijs de Ligt to learn from his mistakes after scoring another goal for the national team.
The Oranje held rivals Germany to a respectable 2-2 draw at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Tuesday night, but could have taken all three points from their Nations League clash but for an error from De Ligt .
The Manchester United The defender delivered the ball cheaply to equalize for Deniz Undav before being replaced at half-time by Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jan-Paul van Hecke.
The latest error came days after De Ligt was guilty of conceding a goal in the Netherlands’ 5-2 home win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Speaking to Dutch television after the match, Van Dyke he sympathized with De Ligt, but also warned him that he will be punished for making these mistakes.
“That’s football. You have to learn from it,” he said. “It was a moment, but at the highest level he will be punished for it.”
Dutch manager Ronald Koeman has also explained his decision to take De Ligt off the firing line after just 45 minutes.
“Of course I would have preferred to keep Matthijs de Ligt on the pitch. He seems to be in a period now where all his mistakes are being punished,” Koeman said.
“I gave him another chance today, but in the end I protected him by retiring him.”
De Ligt will now return to United as they prepare for a trip to Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime. Van Dijk and his Liverpool side host Nottingham Forest later that day.
