Jamie Carragher outlines exactly where Virgil van Dijk ranks among biggest Liverpool legends
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Jamie Carragher has lavished praise on Virgil van Dijk after his match-winning heroics for Liverpool against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
The defender popped up with a winning goal in injury-time that ensured the Reds took three points from a game that seemed destined to slip away from them.
Arne Slot’s side had led 2-0 after just eight, but two Marcos Llorente strikes had wiped out that advantage heading into the final throes.
Van Dijk’s crucial header continued Liverpool’s remarkable record of winning matches via late goals, as has been the case in all five league and European games this season.
Despite Liverpool’s mixed defensive record in the early weeks of the season, Van Dijk’s performances have been exemplary.
Speaking after the Atletico game, Carragher described Van Dijk as one of Liverpool’s all-time “greatest players”.
“I don’t like to describe van Dijk as just the best center-back,” the ex-defender said on CBS Sports.
“At Liverpool, a lot of people are called legends because they won the league, won the Champions League, there are a lot of them.
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I’m talking Stevie [Gerrard], Kenny Dalglish, [Graeme] Souness, Alan Hansen, John Barnes, the top seven or eight players, even Mo Salah.”
Asked whether Van Dijk is in that category, Van Dijk responded; “Without a doubt, he is right in the middle of that and he’s not at the bottom, I can assure you.
“He will go down as one of the greatest players to ever play for Liverpool
Carragher’s comments are not based solely on Van Dijk’s early-season form but on his outstanding performances throughout his time at Anfield.
Van Dijk has been named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Season on five occasions, including in each of the last two campaigns, while the skipper played in 37 of the Reds’ 38 league matches in 2024/25.
He hasn’t missed a minute this term and, at 34, remains the division’s preeminent center-back.
Speaking after the Atletico win, Van Dijk told TNT Sports: “We kept pushing and obviously to concede an equaliser, massively deflected, was not great.
"But we found a way again and I think we were dangerous in set-pieces
We play at home, it's a good game, it's a good opponent