Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk ‘failed’ in his job as leader of the Netherlands national team last night.
That’s according to ratings dished out by Dutch outlet AD following the Oranje’s 4-0 loss against France. Once again captaining his side as they aim to reach Euro 2024, Van Dijk began yesterday’s game opposite Liverpool teammate Ibrahima Konate.
But early on, it became clear that it was going to be Konate who went home with the spoils. Two France goals inside the first seven minutes made the Netherlands’ job pretty much impossible. Kylian Mbappe then added another barely 20 minutes in, before rounding off the scoring in the dying stages of the game.
A hugely disappointing performance from the Dutch, as they begin a new era under Ronald Koeman. Understandably, the players on show were slammed by the press, with Van Dijk given a five out of ten.
That was by no means the worst score given. But still, the Liverpool man is said to have ‘completely failed’ to get his defence ready for the game. Personally, Virgil was claimed to have been ‘not as convincing’ as usual.
Changing of the Liverpool guard in Paris
Perhaps we saw a little bit of a changing of the guards during last night’s clash in Paris? With Van Dijk on one side and Konate on the other, Liverpool’s best two centre-backs were on show for the whole of Europe to see.
With Virgil the established star and Ibou the up-and-comer, there was maybe an expectation that the older man would teach the younger a lesson. In the end it was maybe the other way around.
In truth, this 90 minutes in the French capital did somewhat sum up where the two players find themselves right now.
Konate can do no wrong in the eyes of Liverpool fans. He’s been sorely missed for the majority of this season and the Reds look so much better whenever he’s in the team. The 23-year-old got his clean sheet last night and has now been hailed as potentially one of France’s best ever centre-backs
Van Dijk on the other hand looks like he’s starting to lose a little bit of his famous aura. Below-par for much of the season, the £75m man has the feeling of being a fading force.
We’d love nothing more than for our No.4 to prove that to be absolute nonsense. He’s shown at times this season that he is still very much the best defender in world football. But too often he’s looked like an also-ran. With Konate threatening to overtake him as Liverpool’s top central defender, the gauntlet has been thrown down. Come on, Virg!