Matthijs De Ligt has perfect response for Virgil van Dijk after Liverpool skipper's ruthless comments

Matthijs de Ligt offered up the perfect response to his critics with his performance against Southampton just days after an individual errors saw him cost the Netherlands in their clash against Germany.

In midweek, De Ligt carelessly gave the ball away deep in his own half which led to Deniz Undav netting an equaliser for Germany against the Netherlands in their Nations League clash. And then later on in the first half, the Dutchman again made another mistake that allowed Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich to blast home past Bart Verbruggen.

The game would finish 2-2 in the end, with Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk left frustrated by the errors that cost Netherlands. "This is football," said Van Dijk after the game. "You have to learn from this. It was one moment but at the highest level, you will get punished for it."

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Thankfully for De Ligt, he upped his performance levels against Southampton in Manchester United's first game back from the international break, with the Dutchman scoring his first goal for Erik ten Hag's side just minutes after the Saints had a penalty saved.

The 25-year-old scored a header at Saint Mary's, celebrating wildly after putting United in front. And they would double their lead minutes later through forward Marcus Rashford. De Ligt could have added another but was denied by Aaron Ramsdale before the break.

He looked composed throughout the match against Southampton, and looked to be back to his best after a tricky start to life at Old Trafford.

"We [He and De Ligt] talked about it briefly," Dutch boss Ronald Koeman told Voetbal International following De Ligt's mistakes against Germany. "That focused on the goal - he is not in a good position. He did not come out well with his steps.

"That was an individual bad moment from a defender. You have to learn from that, but also not be too dramatic about it. He also had very good moments on the ball. That resulted in another big chance, when he played directly forward once. But it is clear that he also has to improve."

Liverpool.com says: "After having come in for some criticism during his opening few games for Manchester United, the goal for Matthijs de Ligt will have felt even sweeter. That said, had Cameron Archer tucked away his penalty that was saved by Andre Onana, there's every chance United might have wilted. However, they didn't, with Onana's save and De Ligt's goal proving the catalyst for United on Saturday."