Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk gave his Netherlands teammates a pep talk after Ajax's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League semi-finals.

Ajax were up 3-0 on aggregate before Lucas Moura's hat-trick saw Spurs advance to the final against Liverpool.

And van Dijk consoled a number of his international teammates after their shock exit.

“I couldn't believe it either but I told them later they could be very proud of themselves," the centre-back told The Guardian.

“If you're very critical you can say Ajax gave it away in the second half because they didn't play their own game. But they were outstanding this whole campaign and put Ajax and Dutch football back on the map."