Argentine superstar Lionel Messi put more woes on the back of the Dutch after criticising Louis Van Gaal's side for their direct approach in Latin American side's dramatic quarter-final win on Friday evening that sent the European outfits out of the competition.
"I feel disrespected by Van Gaal after his pregame comments and some Dutch players spoke too much during the game," Messi told reporters after the game as quoted by ESPN.
As reported by Sky Sports, such a barbed reaction was ignited leading up to the contest by Van Gaal himself, who told Dutch publication NOS, "Messi is indeed the most dangerous player who creates the most chances and also makes them himself.
"But on the other hand he does not play much with the opponent when he has possession of the ball. That is also where our chances lie."
Messi showed masterclass when he laid down a spectacular assist for Argentina's first goal scored by Nahuel Molina before he doubled the lead calmly from the spot but two late goals by Dutch substitute Wout Weghorst rolled the game into extra time.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez's heroics in the shootout saw Argentina emerged winners to secure the semi-final berth and Messi took no time to hit back the Dutch coach.
"Van Gaal sells that he plays good football and then he puts forwards in the box and starts throwing long balls," Messi said of Van Gaal's tactics. "We deserved to go through and that's what happened."
Martinez also had strong words for Van Gaal. "I heard Van Gaal saying 'we've got an advantage on penalties, if we go to penalties we win,'" Martinez said. "I think he needs to keep his mouth shut."
