Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk netted the winning goal as the Netherlands beat Greece last night and earned rave reviews from the Dutch media after his display.
Van Dijk put in a captain’s performance on Monday evening to help the Netherlands take a crucial step towards qualifying for next year’s Euros.
The 31-year-old stepped up to take a last-minute penalty and smashed his effort past the Greek goalkeeper.
It came after Wout Weghorst missed a penalty in the first half and Ronald Koeman’s men were largely left frustrated throughout the game.
And Liverpool’s Van Dijk has impressed the Dutch media after Holland picked up a narrow 1-0 win on Monday night.
Dutch media and Liverpool amazed by Van Dijk’s latest international display
Football Oranje handed Van Dijk a 7.5 out of 10 rating for his display against Greece and praised his defensive work on the night.
The outlet wrote: “A strong captains performance from Van Dijk,
Who did well defensively, won a penalty and then scored the winner.”
Voetbal Primeur were slightly more generous with their rating
They handed the Liverpool centre-back a rating of eight out of 10.
“It was time for Van Dijk to take his team by the hand, and he did,” they wrote. “The captain played a strong game at the back, scored a (missed) penalty and scored the winner from the spot.”
Van Dijk has been exceptional for Liverpool so far this season and seems to be rediscovering his best form.
The £220,000-a-week received plenty of criticism last week as the Netherlands fell to a disappointing defeat to France.
But Liverpool defender Van Dijk has responded with a commanding display from centre-back
Put Koeman’s side one step closer to qualifying for next year’s Euros.
Regardless, the defender’s successful conversion on Monday moved the Netherlands back into the qualification spots with two very winnable games remaining.
The 1988 European Championship winners welcome Ireland next month before travelling to minnows Gibraltar on the final matchday.
