There were some stand-out performers for Liverpool against Tottenham on Thursday, but one stood out for Jamie Carragher.
The Reds booked their place in the Carabao Cup final with a 4-0 win against Spurs with Arne Slot’s men putting in arguably their best performance of the season.
Liverpool equalled a 131-year-old record on Thursday night as several of their stars stepped up in front of a lively Anfield crowd.
Conor Bradley put in an immense showing for Liverpool, but one name in particular stood out for Jamie Carragher.
The Sky Sports pundit believes Virgil van Dijk has now ended an age-old debate and made his case post-match in the Sky Sports studio.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk is the best Premier League defender ever
Van Dijk has been incredible for Liverpool all season and continued that with his display against Tottenham on Thursday night.
Dion Dublin was impressed by Van Dijk’s leadership over his Liverpool teammates as the Dutch defender spent the entire match organising his backline.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the contest, Jamie Carragher was so impressed by Van Dijk that he stated that the 33-year-old is the greatest defender in the history of the Premier League, and it is not even a debate.
“When you think of the Premier League, I think we all agree it is the best league in the world, and then you got the Champions League football. That’s the highest level, that is higher than international football, World Cups and Euros,” Carragher said.
“He’s too good for the highest level of football. It’s almost like it’s still too easy for him! It almost feels like there should be another level above that for Van Dijk because he plays the game with such ease.
“I watched him here against Haaland – the best goalscorer around, a big, powerful lad who’s got pace – and it doesn’t even feel like [Van Dijk] is trying.”
Carragher would go on to say: “He is the best [in the Premier League] but it is not even a debate. This nonsense about all the other defenders and I played with a lot of them; he is so far above it, it’s a joke. I have never seen a player that at ease, probably in any position, not just at centre-back.”
How Virgil van Dijk compares to other Premier League greats
When it comes to the debate about the best defender in the history of the Premier League, names such as John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Tony Adams are often brought up.
All three were integral to their team’s success and have had incredible Premier League careers, but it is diifuclt to debate who is better due to the different eras they played in.
| Player | Games | Wins | Goals | Clean sheets | Titles |
| Rio Ferdiand | 504 | 291 | 11 | 189 | 6 |
| John Terry | 492 | 311 | 41 | 214 | 5 |
| Tony Adams | 255 | 132 | 12 | 115 | 2 |
| Virgil van Dijk | 287 | 181 | 23 | 112 | 1 |
Overall, it it seems that Van Dijk is the best out of the four, due to the ease in which he plays the game, his physical atributes and the fact he has not played is career with the best team in the league.
Others will argue that the strikers in the English top flight were better in Terry and Ferdinand’s and that is a great point, however, it is hard to overrule the eye test with other factors and stats.
Van Dijk is a very impressive footballer to witness play live and this is proven in Ibrahima Konate admitting that he didnt relaise how good the Liverpool captian was until he moved to Anfield.
The Dutch defender always seems to be in control of his surroundings and Carragher may be right on this one when labelling the Liverpool captain as the greatest defender to ever play in the Premier League.
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