Jannik Vestergaard and Victor Kristiansen both had a night to forget as the Leicester City duo crashed out of the Nations League with Denmark.
After beating Portugal in the first leg 1-0 it wasn’t the same story on Sunday night as Denmark ended up being hammered 5-2 on the night.
Vestergaard, who was ‘colossus’ last time out, started the game again whilst Victor Kristiansen, who looked to be frozen out of the national team set-up, was forced to replace the injured Patrick Dorgu midway through the game.
Given that the two are part of the second-worst defence in the Premier League, it would’ve been no surprise to Leicester fans to see that they were also leaking goals on the international stage. But, both appeared to still make a decent impression.
Danish media give verdict on Jannik Vestergaard vs Portugal
Vestergaard started and played the full 120 minutes of the game as he watched Denmark fight their way back from two goals down to level the game back to 2-2, only to collapse in extra time.
Despite that, the 32-year-old was singled out as one of the better players on the night, while one media outlet made a small dig in reference to his lack of game time under Ruud van Nistelrooy in recent weeks.
BT were the ones to make the sly comment after handing him four stars out of six.
“Yes, five goals were scored. But they were all almost ‘freak’ scores. Again, you sat there several times thinking ‘how can a bottom team in the Premier League not find room for Jannik Vestergaard?’ He showed a lot of what he is really good at. And wisely stayed away from what he is really bad at,” they said.
Tipsbladet said: “Played an unfortunate supporting role in the own goal, but otherwise solid defensive play and a few good passes and runs up the field. A few cosmetic mistakes here and there.”
“Vestergaard also brought a good experience from the first meeting with the light-footed Portuguese offensive players. The task was completely different and more difficult for the tall stopper this evening, where he had to stop several attacks along the ground and also did not have quite the same luck with the play up the field. Still important in the main game, even though it went wrong with the own goal. Got better during the match, where he ended up playing at the top,” added DR, who gave him a seven.
How Danish media rated Victor Kristiansen display vs Portugal
Unlike Vestergaard, Kristiansen came into the international break as a first team regular for Leicester.
The young full-back has disappointed and after national team head coach Brian Riemer’s comments earlier this month, he had a point to prove.
When Dorgu was substituted, it was Kristiansen Riemer turned to and although he didn’t disappoint, he didn’t set the world alight on his audition.
“The goals poured in after “VK” came on the pitch. It wasn’t his fault, but it wasn’t exactly a mark of quality either,” said Tipsbladet.
DR were less understanding, handing ‘VK’ a two for his display, saying: “Not a good start by ‘VK’, who seemed to be on their heels in many situations and came under tremendous pressure in extra time.”
BT gave him three out of six stars, adding: “The otherwise discarded full-back ended up getting more than 50 minutes of playing time. Was stable – without being blown away.”