Premier League Team of the Week: Van Dijk, Vardy and De Bruyne feature

Here are the Premier League’s best XI for Week 4 of the 2019-20 season, featuring Virgil van Dijk, Jamie Vardy and Kevin De Bruyne.

Virgil van Dijk isn’t the world’s most expensive defender anymore. That distinction now belongs to Manchester United’s Harry Maguire. Yet, Van Dijk is still the most dominant center-back in the game.

The Dutchman reminded Maguire what justifying a price tag means with an imperious performance to boss Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.

Liverpool went top with a 3-0 win on the strength of the linchpin at the back and enviable firepower up top. Manchester City can match the latter quality and eased through the gears to score four against Brighton, with Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne among the goals.

Leicester aren’t about to upset City and Liverpool by repeating the magical title success of 2016. However, the Foxes are fancied by many to overtake at least one big name among the division’s familiar top six this season.

It’s a reasonable assumption based on how strong Brendan Rodgers’ team looks at both ends. Jamie Vardy is still scoring goals to complement a rugged defense and enterprising midfield.

He scored two beauties to help see off Bournemouth 3-1 and move the Foxes into third.

Find out who else joins Vardy, De Bruyne and Van Dijk in the latest team of the week:

Goalkeeper: Martin Dubravka, Newcastle

Watford remain winless and bottom of the table, but the Hornets deserved more than just a point from their trip to Newcastle. Ultimately, Martin Dubravka’s efforts between the sticks preserved a 1-1 draw for the Magpies.

Dubravka made a number of clutch saves late on to thwart some slick breaks from the visitors. His best stops included clawing away an Isaac Success header and standing tall to rebuff a shot from Roberto Pereyra.

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce has attempted to fortify defense with numbers, opting to deploy a back five. Yet he’s still reliant on Dubravka’s agility, timing and instincts to keep the Magpies secure.

Defender: Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool

UEFA weren’t throwing out empty praise when they named Van Dijk Men’s Player of the Year recently. The Liverpool center-back merited the award thanks to the way he’s dominated opposition attackers since joining the Reds back in the winter of 2018.

Van Dijk already looks in the mood to collect more individual gongs. He was a barrier Burnley couldn’t break in Lancashire.

The Clarets kept their game typically direct, flooding wide areas with pace and loading the box with a barrage of crosses. It meant a heavy dose of aerial battles for Van Dijk and Co., a challenge the imposing 28-year-old duly accepted.

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No defender combines technique with physicality as well as Van Dijk, the game’s personification of an iron hand in a velvet glove.

Defender: Jannik Vestergaard, Southampton

If Van Dijk was the busiest defender in Matchweek 4, Jannik Vestergaard was a close second. The Southampton center-back was the last line Manchester United could rarely get beyond on the South coast.

Vestergaard made a season’s worth of last-ditch blocks in one game. He threw himself at shots to deny Marcus Rashford, Daniel James and Ashley Young.

Typically, the Denmark international was also a menace in the air at both ends of the pitch. It was Vestergaard who bullied the United defense to head in the equalizer in the 58th minute.

The goal proved enough to earn a point from a 1-1 draw, but only after Southampton survived the last 20 minutes with 10 men, following Kevin Danso’s dismissal for a second yellow card.

Survival was only possible thanks to Vestergaard’s stubborn resilience.

Defender: Enda Stevens, Sheffield United

Sheffield United have caught teams cold since coming up from the second tier thanks to a bold style of play. The approach depends on athletic and forward-thinking defenders, with left wing-back Enda Stevens the pick of the bunch.

He ran Chelsea ragged and inspired the Blades to earn a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Stevens was direct and determined whenever he raided forward and gave the usually reliable Cesar Azpilicueta a torrid time.

Azpilicueta will likely have nightmares about how easily he was brushed aside before Stevens crossed for Callum Robinson to net the Blades’ first goal.

Premier League teams are becoming increasingly reliant on full-backs for width. Yet few members of the established order use the ploy as effectively as Stevens and the Blades.

Midfielder: Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City

City’s title rivals better hope De Bruyne doesn’t miss any time through injury this season. Absence obviously makes the team’s creative fulcrum stronger.

De Bruyne was available for just half of City’s league games during the 2018-19 campaign. He’s more than making up for lost time, though.

De Bruyne found himself in the rare position of being on the end of an assist when he opened the scoring in less than two minutes against Brighton. He ensured David Silva’s pass didn’t go to waste but soon reverted to type by laying on Aguero’s first goal.

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If this is the pattern of how De Bruyne’s season will play out, City won’t have to wait until the last day to claim a third title in a row.

Midfielder: David Silva, Manchester City

De Bruyne is entering his prime, but David Silva is merely looking back on his and smiling fondly. The Spaniard has reached the rarified air where the sport he’s mastered now comes so naturally he can still boss games in his mid-30s and make it look easy.

Silva, who is becoming more effective with age, followed last week’s assist-binge against Bournemouth by creating two more goals against the Seagulls.

His performances are setting a standard the other gifted playmakers in City’s midfield are only too willing to match. It’s why the Citizens remain the team to beat.

Midfielder: Youri Tielemans, Leicester

Youri Tielemans has a devilish sense of timing. Just when Leicester fans were wondering why the club invested £40 million on him this summer, the diminutive midfield maestro sprang into life.

Tielemans awoke from a slumber that had lasted through three stale performances by scoring the Foxes’ second against Bournemouth.

He met a low cross from Vardy, and the same combination worked in reverse for Leicester’s third. This time Tielemans angled an inch-perfect pass into Vardy’s path, setting up a routine finish for a striker in a ruthless mood.

The weight and timing of the pass showcased the technique Tielemans possesses. His artistry is essential for the way Brendan Rodgers wants his progressive team to play.

Although he was fortunate to somehow escape punishment for a horror challenge on Cherries’ striker Callum Wilson, Tielemans will have people focusing more on his creative output as the season continues.

Midfielder: Andriy Yarmolenko, West Ham

You only have to listen to the sound made when Andriy Yarmolenko strikes a ball to know how frustrated he was during 10 months on the treatment table.

An Achilles injury wrecked the winger’s first campaign with West Ham, but he is taking his frustrations out on defenses not prepared for his shooting power.

Yarmolenko roughed up Norwich with pace, strength and aggression during a 2-0 home win. He took shots on early, nearly cracking the frame of the goal in two with one such effort from distance.

Eventually Yarmolenko was rewarded for his persistence when he volleyed in on the turn in the 56th minute. His ability to cut in from the right flank and thread reverse passes into the box also left Norwich defenders chasing shadows.

Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini has a lot of options on the wings, including Michail Antonio and summer signing Pablo Fornals. Both are likely to be left on the outside looking in if Yarmolenko repeats performances like this.

Striker: Jamie Vardy, Leicester

He’s 32 and there’s always somebody willing to identify his limitations, but Jamie Vardy continues to score goals at the highest level.

Leicester’s No. 9 bagged a brace against the Cherries, getting things started in style:

The goal was an ode to the Vardy of the Foxes’ title-winning heyday. He broke clear with pace, met a long ball and finished in a brash and instinctive manner.

As good as the goal was, there has always been more to Vardy’s game than simply playing chase. He’s proved he can still thrive in a team built not to strike on the break but boss possession and create chances more patiently in intricate spaces

Vardy’s second against Bournemouth was a classic example. He turned in the box to connect quickly with a short-range through pass.

His record since Rodgers took charge proves Vardy is a complete striker:

He’s also Leicester’s best means of breaking the top-six monopoly.

Striker: Sergio Aguero, Manchester City

Aguero was a simple and efficient delivery system for goals during last week’s win over Bournemouth. He snapped up two chances in the box with the minimum of fuss.

The Argentinian showed off the spectacular side of his game against Brighton. It yielded two more goals, but they were taken with more highlight-reel-worthy skill and dynamism.

Aguero’s second was the pick of all four goals, a brilliantly curled effort into the top corner after a neat turn inspired by quick feet. Individually crafted goals out of nothing have become as much a signature of Aguero’s game as the instinctive tap-ins from inside the box.

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He was overshadowed somewhat by other goalscorers last season, including Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. Six goals in the bank already proves Aguero is ready to take back his crown as the elite marksman in England’s top flight.

Striker: Tammy Abraham, Chelsea

Abraham makes a second straight appearance in the team of the week after netting another brace for Chelsea. The 21-year-old used pace to torment Norwich last week, but muscle was his weapon of choice against the Blades.

He bullied defenders in the box and pounced on even the slightest mistake. Abraham converted when Blades goalkeeper Dean Henderson couldn’t get to a loose ball.

The goal encapsulated Abraham’s willingness to make himself a nuisance in the most dangerous area of the pitch. An appetite for mixing it in the area and a growing assurance when taking chances is why Abraham’s scoring run looks set to go on.