Virgil van Dijk’s Wembley heroics catapult him up Dream Team rankings – no defender has scored more goals this season

LIVERPOOL may have won the Carabao Cup final with a host of youngsters on the pitch but it was their experienced captain who dealt the crucial blow.

Virgil van Dijk (£3.9m) glanced a 118th-minute corner into the far corner to spare Wembley the nerve-shredding agony of a penalty shootout and secure the seventh major honour of the Jurgen Klopp era.

The 32-year-old centre-back appeared to have given the Reds the lead in normal time with an imperious header from a wide free-kick but the goal was disallowed for an offside upon VAR review.

No doubt that decision would have been a major point of contention had Chelsea ended up lifting the trophy after spot-kicks but, incredibly, Van Dijk was able to repeat the trick in the nick of time without any infringements to send Liverpool fans home happy.

Sunday’s final underlined the Dutchman’s potent threat at set-pieces.

In fact, he’s now scored three goals in his last seven appearances.

Naturally, this profitable run has catapulted him up the Dream Team rankings.

Van Dijk is now fourth in his position overall having taken his season total to 162 points, just four shy of third-placed Gabriel (£4.1m).

When all was said and done at Wembley, Van Dijk banked 15 points for his second-best single-game return of the campaign.

He’s also Dream Team’s most in-form defender statistically having averaged 9.7 points-per-game across his last three outings.

Van Dijk’s tally of four goals is the joint-highest among assets in his position at this stage – level with Fabian Schar (£3.4m), Dan Burn (£3.3m) and Lewis Dunk (£2.8m).

Couple this attacking threat with nine clean sheets (only Everton and Arsenal’s regulars have contributed to more) and it’s no wonder Liverpool’s No4 now finds himself among the cream of the Dream Team crop.

Furthermore, his tally of 21 bonus points is only bettered by six defenders at the time of writing.

Plenty of Dream Team bosses have benefited from Van Dijk’s fruitful form of late.

An ownership of 23.8% makes him the fourth-most selected player in his position and 12th-most popular overall.

Looking forward, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Van Dijk was rested against former club Southampton in midweek with Klopp likely to see the FA Cup as a low priority all the while his injury-hit side top the Premier League table, especially now they’ve checked off a domestic cup this term.

In Gameweek 26, Liverpool face Nottingham Forest and Sparta Prague, a double header which could yield more healthy returns for Van Dijk.

However, it’s worth noting that Liverpool’s skipper played just 90 minutes during the Europa League group stage campaign – will Klopp see things differently in a knockout environment?

Having re-established himself as one of Europe’s best defenders, Van Dijk is obviously a tempting option right now but gaffers should monitor his minutes closely to be certain.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk