Virgil van Dijk 'threw Matthijs de Ligt under the bus' as Liverpool star slammed

Harry Redknapp referenced Virgil van Dijk's criticism of Matthijs de Ligt as he named the Manchester United defender in his team of the week.

De Ligt had an international break to forget, as Germany scored against the Netherlands after United's new signing sloppily gave the ball away inside his own half.

He was subsequently substituted at half-time, and Liverpool skipper Van Dijk admitted his compatriot needed to improve. "This is football," Van Dijk said after the match. "You have to learn from this. It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it."

Those comments seem fairly tame, but Redknapp touched on suggestions from others that Van Dijk 'threw him under the boss'.

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Speaking to Bet Victor, Redknapp said: "Matthijs de Ligt bounced back from a tough international week, some say that Virgil van Dijk threw him under the bus! Well, this Dutchman certainly silenced the critics with a superb goal and clean sheet! Man United needed a result. They were on a real low after being well beaten by Liverpool and their new signing stepped up to the mark."

Unsurprisingly, no Liverpool players made it into Redknapp's team of the week, but there was room for Nottingham Forest's match-winner, Callum Hudson-Odoi, while Nuno Espirito Santo was selected as the manager of the month.

"Off the subs bench to score that!" Redknapp said of Hudson-Odoi. "What audacity that youngster has, curling in an inch-perfect shot into the far bottom corner. Alisson didn’t have a chance! He made all the difference and got the winner in the shock of the weekend by far. He’s my star man this week."