Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman has defended Matthijs de Ligt after his side’s 5-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday. The Oranje were in fine form, with five goals from Joshua Zirkzee
, Tijani Reijnders, Cody Gakpo, Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons all scoring. However, De Ligt
came under fire for two of Bosnia’s goals. Ermedin Demirovic’s 27th-minute equaliser was a result of the 25-year-old’s poor positioning, before miscommunicating
with Bart Verbrucke and allowing Edin Dzeko to make it 3-2. The Netherlands eventually won 5-2 with two more goals.
Speaking after the terrific result, Koeman was quick to defend the actions of the Red Devils defender, claiming that it would be ‘unfair’ to harshly judge De Ligt.
“He himself realises that he was in the wrong position,” Koeman told reporters. “This should not happen, but mistakes are part of football. I think it is unfair to make a big deal out of it.”
When asked about Ermedin Demirovic’s goal in the opening half, he continued: “Xavi Simons should have done better. He was marking their left midfielder and suddenly walked away from him. Of course, the centre-backs are positioning themselves wrong too.
“We played very well in possession of the ball. Very fresh, fast, often finding the people between the lines. We certainly had a good phase after the break, but then the match has to be over.
“Xavi Simons could have done better. “He marked their left midfielder and then suddenly he let it go, of course the centre-back pair made mistakes as well,” Koeman said of the ufabet http://ufabet999.app Bosnia’s opening goal.
While Koeman felt it was unfair to focus solely on De Ligt’s mistake, he hoped the match would serve as a cautionary tale for United’s defenders.
Asked if he was concerned about De Ligt’s performance, Koeman added: “He knows he made mistakes. “
It shouldn’t happen, but mistakes are part of football. I don’t think it’s fair to make a big deal out of it.”