Virgil van Dijk criticised his Netherlands team-mates after their 2-1 win over Serbia, admitting the Dutch were not good enough in their second Nations League match on Sunday. The Liverpool captain completed the full 90 minutes in Belgrade, where Xavi's side lost Cody Gakpo to an ankle injury early on.
Netherlands edge past Serbia
Gakpo is now set to undergo a scan on Monday after the forward was forced off. Mexx Meerdink opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the half-hour mark, and Luka Jovic equalised shortly after the restart before Meerdink clinched a narrow victory midway through the second half.
Speaking after the final whistle, Van Dijk admitted he was not satisfied with the performance. "I have a less good feeling than after the last match," he told Dutch media. "I think this was a bad game from us."
"We could make it easier for ourselves if we finished the chances, but we aren't doing that and then it can become dangerous. We are allowed to be critical of each other, there is certainly still work to be done."
Van Dijk added: "We are happy with the three points, but we can still be critical of ourselves because it was not our best performance. We gave away moments that we need to review and improve."
Tsimikas helps Greece stun Germany
Ryan Gravenberch started the game but was replaced in the 67th minute by Guus Til, who set up the winner within two minutes of his introduction. Jeremie Frimpong was left out of the Netherlands matchday squad entirely.
Kostas Tsimikas helped Greece to a famous 1-0 victory away at Jurgen Klopp's Germany. The left-back completed the full 90 minutes and engaged in a heated altercation with Karim Adeyemi at one point as the pair had to be separated.
Dimitrios Kourbelis came off the bench to score a 74th-minute winner for the 2004 European champions, inflicting a first defeat on Klopp following his appointment as Germany head coach. Tsimikas caught up with his former boss after the final whistle and was delighted to be reunited.
"The most fantastic feeling was seeing him after a long time," he told Sport 24. "I've definitely been through a lot with him, there's a relationship of love and respect between us."
"As I told him, I did what he taught me, and I beat him with his own weapons. He was laughing and said, 'Congratulations'."
Tsimikas later took to social media to mark the victory, writing on Instagram: "For all of Greece to go up and down".
Other Liverpool players in action
Florian Wirtz came on as a 65th-minute substitute for Germany, having been called up prematurely to the squad following injuries to Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz. However, German media were not impressed with his performance as he was lambasted for another "inconspicuous" showing.
Lewis Koumas came on as a 67th-minute substitute for Wales as they lost 2-0 away to Denmark. The Liverpool forward appeared to come through his outing unscathed and could now be on standby for a full Premier League debut against Man City when the Reds return to club action after seeing both Gakpo and Alexander Isak suffer injuries during the international break.
Should the pair miss out, the 21-year-old would be Andoni Iraola's only available recognised senior centre-forward. At youth level, Erik Farkas was a late substitute for England Under-18s as they beat Egypt 2-1 in the UEFA Friendship Cup in Switzerland.
