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Manchester United summer signing Matthijs de Ligt made headlines in the Netherlands for his poor performance in the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday night. The former Bayern Munich player was substituted at half-time in the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw with Germany. Ronald Koeman had clearly had enough after his side conceded two sloppy first-half goals.
Jan Paul van Hecke replaced Matthijs de Ligt and immediately strengthened the defense. Denzel Dumfries then equalized in the 50th minute and the Dutch were able to finish the game without conceding a goal. De Ligt watched the rest of the game from the bench, as punishment for poor defense.
After the match, captain Virgil van Dijk was asked about De Ligt’s performance. “It happened to De Ligt on Saturday and it happened again tonight. How serious is it for him?” Here are the journalist’s comments to which Van Dijk responded: “That’s football. You have to learn from it. It was a moment, but at this level, you pay the price.”
Matthijs de Ligt will now return to Manchester United ahead of the crucial Premier League clash with Southampton, giving the Dutchman and the rest of the squad a chance to redeem themselves after a poor start to the season. The Red Devils currently sit 14th in the table having lost two of their opening three games and won one.
GBeNeFN | Jonas Fielding
