Rafael Van der Vaart has criticised Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk for his role in Federico Chiesa's goal in Holland's 3-2 UEFA Nations League defeat.
It was another defeat for Ronald Koeman's side as Italy claimed third-place in the competition. Headed by former Manchester City boss, Roberto Mancini, they raced into a two-goal first-half lead in Enschede.
Federico Dimarco and Davide Frattesi put them into the lead after 20 minutes. The former Everton manager made three changes at the break with Steven Bergwijn making an instant impact by halving the deficit.
However, the one-goal disadvantage was shortlived as Federico Chiesa made it 3-1 with 18 minutes remaining. There was enough time for another Holland goal as former Reds midfielder Gini Wijnaldum caused some concern for the Italians going into nine minutes of second-half stoppage time - however, they held their nerve to cement third place in the 2023 UEFA Nations League.
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Van der Vaart, who hasn't been shy to criticise Van Dijk in the past, continued to take aim at the Liverpool defender. The 31-year-old was jockeying Chiesa before the Juventus man weaved in to out slotting past Justin Bijlow into the far corner.
“Virgil van Dijk is being criticised and rightly so," the former Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder told Dutch outlet NOS. "For 20 minutes I thought: he is back, but that moment with Chiesa.. he is basically doing nothing.
"We are missing Matthijs de Ligt in his current form, let’s not forget that."
His Liverpool teammate, Cody Gakpo, played the entirety of their defeat on Dutch soil as he started down the middle of a front three. It was another disappointing game for Van Dijk as he rounded off his 2023-24 season with a defeat, the pair will not join up with their teammates for international duty until September.
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