Matthijs de Ligt is currently going through what might be the most critical moments of his career. After the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Netherlands won 5-2 and the Manchester United defender was directly responsible for Edin Džeko’s goal (he failed to notice the Fenerbahçe striker sneaking behind him), the former Ajax captain is now the target of severe criticism and even ridicule for his mistakes—or blunders?—during last night’s game against Germany. First, he misplayed a pass, leading directly to Deniz Undav’s goal, and his performance wasn’t much better during Germany’s second goal, though the blame doesn’t solely rest on him.Classic provided us with spectacle: Oranje and Germany share spoils in a four-goal thrillerNevertheless, the Dutch media have been ruthless. De Ligt was the only player in his team to receive a rating of five, while no one else was rated below six.”Once again, it’s him! De Ligt handed the ball to the opponent, which allowed the Germans to equalize 1-1. A painful moment for a man who stayed in the locker room at halftime. This mistake still haunts him,” wrote Voetbalprimeur.De Ligt himself has been the harshest critic of his own performance. After the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he admitted that while he did most things right, such errors have happened to him before.“I blame myself for the second goal. It happened in a split second. Bart Verbruggen is not at fault, I should have cleared the ball. Things like this happened to me even when I was in top form. I have to take something positive from all of this,” De Ligt said after the match against the Dragons.However, it’s clear he hasn’t found anything positive. The same basic error happened again, the kind that gets you substituted at halftime—which is exactly what Ronald Koeman did, replacing De Ligt with Van Hecke. Fans can sometimes be extreme in their praise and criticism, but one Dutch supporter made an interesting comment:“Matthijs de Ligt is the Harry Maguire of the Dutch national team”.This is why you play, Andre!Some might say this is just another jab at Maguire, but it’s incredible how many mistakes De Ligt has made in just two matches. Where has his calmness and maturity gone, the qualities that stood out when he played for Ajax and attracted the attention of the world’s biggest clubs? The overall impression of De Ligt’s game can be seen in his market value. Ajax sold him to Juventus in July 2019 for 85.5 million euros. Three years later, he moved from the Old Lady to Bayern for 67 million, and this summer, Manchester United bought him for 45 million—nearly half the sum he was sold for from his original club, at a time when he was considered one of the best up-and-coming defenders in the world. However, not everyone has given up on De Ligt. Koeman himself is one of those defending him, claiming that there’s been some exaggeration in the whole story.”Of course, I would have preferred to keep him on the pitch. I gave him a chance, but in the end, I had to protect him from everything, so I substituted him at halftime. He’s more aware of his mistakes than anyone else. This shouldn’t happen, but it’s part of football. I think it’s unfair to make a big deal out of it,” Koeman stated.Former Dutch international Pierre van Hooijdonk also weighed in on the situation.“After the mistake against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he had another critical pass before the goal today. When these things happen once, there’s a big chance they’ll happen again. We all think De Ligt is a great player, but if you look more closely, these kinds of mistakes have been common for the Dutch national team in recent years” Van Hooijdonk emphasized.##NAJAVA_MECA_8325856##
