Rafael van der Vaart sings his praises: ‘I found him annoying, but I really enjoyed watching him this time’

Rafael van der Vaart loved watching Wout Weghorst on Sunday. The FC Twente striker scored four times in a 0-9 VriendenLoterij Eredivisie win over Excelsior, who played almost the entire match with ten men after Nesto Groen saw red.

In Rotterdam, Twente showed no mercy. Weghorst scored to make it 0-1, 0-2, 0-3 and 0-7. "This afternoon was truly unique," Van der Vaart said on Studio Sport. "I saw goals from him that reminded me of Bergkamp and Van Basten. He was absolutely fantastic. You have to be able to say that."

"Of course, a lot of people find him irritating. I was one of them. But everything came off today. Everything was beautiful. I really enjoyed it."

Twente's other standout, Sondre Ørjasæter, provided five assists. No player had managed that in an Eredivisie match this century.

"Madness," said Imke Courtois, who was also there. "I think he's a very good player in any case. Mainly because he can play so easily with either foot. He can go round the outside or cut inside. He's also very quick over the first few metres, and he keeps his head up."

Van der Vaart agreed with her. "I enjoy watching him too. Everything was perfect. But I have to say that a 9-0 scoreline in the Eredivisie makes me a little sad."

"Getting a red card and then letting the game slip away like that is a bit bad for the league. Still, Twente simply have a good team. They can pull it off against ten men. But above all, I enjoyed watching Weghorst."