- Matthijs de Ligt offered a scathing analysis of his performance with the Netherlands
- The defender made a couple of mistakes and Ronald Koeman’s team won 5-2 in Eindhoven
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Matthijs de Ligt was not one to mince his words when he admitted that he was far from his best after having performed poorly in his international matches.
The Netherlands went into their clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina as clear favourites and quickly delivered on their promise when fellow Manchester United star Joshua Zirkzee gave them an early lead.
Ermedin Demirovic capitalised on a defensive error by United’s £43million summer signing to level the scores for the visitors before Tijjani Reijnders restored the Netherlands’ lead before the interval.
Liverpool striker Cody Gakpo extended their lead early in the second half before De Ligt was again caught out and allowed Edin Dzeko to apply pressure.
While goals from Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons secured victory in the Nations League clash, De Ligt admitted after the match that he was frustrated with his performance.
Matthijs de Ligt offered a brutally honest assessment of his performance on international duty
The Dutchman made a couple of mistakes, with one particularly glaring error allowing Edin Dzeko to score.
But the Netherlands ultimately triumphed against Bosnia and Herzegovina, with De Ligt’s Manchester United teammate Joshua Zirkzee scoring.
“I think you know how I feel, we won but then comes the individual part,” he said.
“I should have done better on the second goal and I know that. I’m not sure what happened… I should have cleared the ball, but I kept having doubts during the play. It’s crap.”
“Is this match a missed opportunity for me? I don’t know, I’m just trying to do the best I can.”
Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman admitted De Ligt had made mistakes but insisted it was important not to dwell on them in the future.
“He realised himself that he was in the wrong position,” explained the former Everton manager.
“This shouldn’t happen, but mistakes are part of football. I don’t think it’s fair to make such a fuss about it.”
Despite arriving as a marquee signing this summer from Bayern Munich, De Ligt was limited to cameo appearances off the bench in his first two games for Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag preferring a defensive partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire.
Ronald Koeman admitted that De Ligt made a mistake but insisted on the need to move forward
De Ligt has started just one game for Manchester United since completing his £43m move from Bayern Munich.
The Dutchman had a baptism of fire in his first Premier League start last weekend as Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 win at Old Trafford.
Shortly after picking up a yellow card in the second half, Ten Hag opted to replace his compatriot with Maguire, meaning De Ligt is yet to play the full 90 minutes for United.