Mr. Liverpool adds another string to his bow in comeback win at Burnley

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Liverpool have kept the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester City with a 3-1 win over Burnley.

Burnley took the lead 10 minutes into the second-half, making the most of a defensive lapse from Liverpool to tap in from close range. But their advantage would last five minutes with James Milner driving low from outside the area to draw Liverpool level.

And Roberto Firmino came off the bench to turn the game on its head, scoring with just first touch before Xherdan Shaqiri wrapped the win up in injury time.

Here are five things we learned from the game at Turf Moor.

1. Liverpool’s second string not good enough

When the starting line-ups were announced an hour before kick off at Turf Moor, you could have been forgiven for thinking Liverpool were gearing up for a League Cup match against a team from the Championship or League One.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made seven changes from the side which started at Anfield against Everton on Sunday, including no Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in the XI – with the latter out injured.

And in the first half, the Reds looked toothless in attack with their four efforts on goal coming from Naby Keita (two), James Milner and Virgil van Dijk. Only Watford have managed fewer against Burnley in the first half of a Premier League game this season.

Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge also barely had any time on the ball, having 16 touches each before the break – 14 fewer than the next lowest Liverpool player, which was goalkeeper Alisson.

There seemed to be little cohesion between Liverpool’s side as a result of the seven changes with defence and attack not linking up well enough, something which was not helped by Joe Gomez having to go off injured after 23 minutes at right-back.

With the forward line failing, Milner had to take the responsibility to draw Liverpool level on the hour mark, sparking the Reds and Jurgen Klopp into life with Salah and Firmino sent on – resulting in the 3-1 win.

The goal brought the 50th different Premier League game in which James Milner has scored in, with the former Leeds United, Aston Villa and Manchester City man still yet to taste defeat when scoring.

2. Burnley give Dyche hope

Burnley were very good in the Premier League last season and well deserving of their seventh-placed finish and subsequent journey in the Europa League in the summer.

But the Clarets have been a shadow of that side this year, and went into Wednesday second from bottom having won just two of their opening 14 games of the season.

Against Liverpool in the first half, however, Burnley proved the team which overperformed last season is still somewhere at Turf Moor, perfectly frustrating their Big Six opponent as they had been known to do in the past.

They had to do it without possession, enjoying just 20% of the ball in the first half, but were happy to do so, looking to cause Liverpool problems in attack with their presence from set pieces and on the break.

It looked to have come off midway through the first half as Ashley Barnes beautifully volleyed in from a deep free-kick but Liverpool’s high-line was perfect and the strike correctly ruled out for offside. However, 10 minutes into the second half it did pay off as Burnley took the lead from a set piece with Jack Cork tapping in from close range.

Ultimately Burnley would succumb to pressure as Liverpool turned the screws but the Clarets have given Sean Dyche hope of turning their season around.

3. Alisson proves he’s human

Following the howlers in the Champions League final by Loris Karius, Liverpool made it known they were after a goalkeeper in the summer transfer window, and wasted little time in signing Alisson.

The Brazilian has been excellent for the Reds so far in the Premier League, conceding just five goals in his opening 14 games of the season. But Alisson has been prone to lapses of judgment and concentration most notably against Leicester City to concede his first goal of the Premier League campaign.

And it showed again early in the second half against Burnley with Alisson making a mess of James Tarkowski’s effort on goal, fingertip the ball in front of him to the feet of Jack Cork giving the former Swansea City midfieler one of the easiest finishes he may get in his career.

4. Van Dijk is Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk has received a lot of plaudits for his impact since joining Liverpool in January, with Jamie Carragher going as far as claiming the defender may even eclipse Mohamed Salah as the Reds’ best signing.

And, after Wednesday’s performance, it’s not hard to see why he could do just that. The Dutch centre-back was excellent at Turf Moor, cleaning up everything thrown at him with ease, dominating the Burnley attackers in the air.

The one time he was beaten, with good tactical play from Burnley, the Clarets scored. But Van Dijk, naturally, did not let that defeat him, returning to the strong centre-back he is and keeping Burnley out.

He won 12 aerial duels in the 90 minutes, more than any other player and also made 10 clearances – eight more than any other Liverpool player.

Van Dijk also showed his value going forward, making a good run at the back post to get a touch on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick to send the ball back across goal for Firmino to tap in.

5. Premier League kits need regulating

Teams are never going to please every one when releasing their new kits prior to the start of a season, with many believing they have turned into little more than cash grab.

At their most basic, change kits are meant to stop clashes between two teams for the benefit of both the referee and those watching in the stadium and at home.

On Wednesday night, Liverpool had to wear their grey third kit when taking on Burnley at Turf Moor due to their red home kit and purple away clashing with the hosts’ claret and sky blue.

But, while this may have been good enough for referee Stuart Atwell, there were complaints from those watching from afar of the two kit colours being far too similar causing difficulties watching.

This is something which could have been rectified at the start of the season with some regulation from the Premier League, restricting teams from mixing certain colours for their home and away kits. Have a red home kit? Your away strip must be a contrasting colour to ensure it won’t clash if your first kit does.

The post Burnley 1-3 Liverpool: five things learned as Klopp’s super subs undo poor first half display appeared first on Squawka News.



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