Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has urged Matthijs de Ligt to learn from his mistakes after giving away another goal on international duty.
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 matchup were it not for an error from De Ligt.
The Manchester United defender gave the ball away cheaply leading to Deniz Undav’s equaliser and was subsequently replaced at half-time by Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jan-Paul van Hecke.
The latest mistake came days after De Ligt was at fault for a goal conceded in the Netherlands’ 5-2 win at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Speaking to Dutch TV post-match, Van Dijk sympathised with De Ligt, but also warned him he will be punished for making such mistakes.
“This is football. You have to learn from this,” he said. “It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it.”
Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman has also explained his decision to take De Ligt out of the firing line after only 45 minutes.
“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,” Koeman said.
“I gave him a new chance today, but eventually protected him by taking him off.”
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.
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