Reported Liverpool target Donyell Malen had a night to forget as the Netherlands lost 4-2 to Turkey in their opening World Cup qualifier, with manager Frank de Boer critical of the PSV forward’s display (Voetbal International).
In a battle between a current Liverpool ace and a man who may join him at Anfield, Ozan Kabak came out on top during a topsy-turvy World Cup qualifier at the Ataturk Stadium on Wednesday.
Malen was certainly worthy of a start as Holland began their World Cup qualifying campaign. He has produced 23 goals and eight assists for PSV Eindhoven this season.
But the form that has made him one of the Eredivisie’s most feared marksmen deserted the one-time Arsenal youngster in Istanbul.
Not only did he miss the Netherlands’ best chance of a miserable first half, firing straight at goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir when well placed, he also gifted Turkey’s hat-trick hero Burak Yilmaz his second of the game after a clumsy challenge inside the penalty area resulted in a needless spot-kick.
“He was given two opportunities (to score). Normally he has a deadly shot, but this time it wasn’t hard enough to surprise the goalkeeper,” De Boer said when asked about Malen’s display.
“We have certainly had good opportunities, two of which fell for Donyell. This is a very bad result.”
Of course some context is required here.
Malen is clearly less comfortable coming in from the left-hand side having established himself as a ruthless number nine at club level. Perhaps De Boer should take some of the blame for the striker’s struggles on his own shoulders?
But, with Gazzetta dello Sport claiming Liverpool plan to ‘blow the bank’ on PSV’s £25 million-rated talisman this summer, his inability to impress during Wednesday’s high-profile encounter felt like an opportunity missed.
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