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It was a tough New Year’s Day win for Liverpool as they overcame a sturdy Burnley side at Turf Moor. Jürgen Klopp made quite a few changes; seven to be precise. The trio of Philippe Coutinho, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino weren’t named in the starting line-up. While Coutinho and Salah didn’t make the squad, Firmino was rested as Dominic Solanke started up front for the Reds alongside Sadio Mane and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Sean Dyche welcomed back James Tarkowski and the team lineup in their usual 4-5-1, making it hard for Liverpool to create clear-cut openings. The game had a pretty similar pattern to Liverpool’s last tie against Burnley at Anfield. The hosts sat deep and countered Klopp’s men when they had the chance.
A Sadio Mane strike gave Liverpool the lead and just when Burnley thought they had stolen a point with Johann Gudmundsson’s equaliser, Ragnar Klavan turned out to be the unlike hero with his late winner deep into added time.
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Here are the talking points from the game:
#5 Liverpool match Burnley’s work ethic
Okay, Klopp’s side are known for their work ethic, but against teams who play a pragmatic game, the stats are usually not in Liverpool’s favour. While they obviously lead the attacking stats; possession, shots and dribbles completed owing to the calibre of players they have up front, what was intriguing is Liverpool matched Burnley for the defensive stats, thereby showing why they’ve come a long way since that chastening defeat against Tottenham.
Liverpool made as many as 13 tackles, the same as Burnley, won 23 aerial duels, and dispossessed their opponents eight times. They themselves were disposed nine times, but you can what I’m pointing out here.
#4 The squad depth
Last season, at this point in time, Liverpool fell like a pack of cards when Sadio Mane departed for the AFCON and Philippe Coutinho wasn’t at his best as he had just returned from an injury. Strengthening the squad was imperative, and the arrival of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mohamed Salah has boosted Liverpool’s chances of not only finishing in the top four but also do well in the two Cup competitions they’re in.
Last night, Adam Lallana started his first game of the season and put in an impressive shift. Klopp’s system is so fluid that players don’t take all that long to get back into their groove. Lallana not only added the creativity in Coutinho and Salah’s absence but also chased the Burnley attackers and made crucial tackles to thwart the hosts.
Manchester City might be flying high in the league, but Liverpool can harbour hopes of a top 3 finish if they can continue their good run.
#3 The resurgence of Sadio Mane?
After a pretty dry run, the Senegalese now has an assist and a goal to show for in the last two games. While his overall performance might still be a bit scratchy, the one thing that has improved is his decision making, hence the good output.
Lest we forget, in terms of football ability, Mane is up there with the best crème de la crème in the league, so it was never going to take long before he started scoring again.
With the league entering a key phase now, the fans will hope Mane can improve his overall game, because boy he is some player when he is on the top of his game!
#2 Sean Dyche could do with a few January signings
For lower-half teams overachieving, the fall from grace is usually pretty hard. With the squad Dyche has, there’s no shame in stating that they have punched above their weight this season. But there are areas where the team can improve.
The Clarets have done enough to probably finish somewhere around mid-table even if they have an average second half of the season, but Dyche isn’t one who takes two steps back.
19 goals in 22 games is a pretty low tally, so they do need a bit more creativity. Signing a striker doesn’t really make much sense as Chris Wood and Sam Vokes are pretty good. Perhaps someone who can help with the creativity in the final third? Jeff Hendrick is good; he puts a shift in, gets back to defend and can score a goal every now and then, but he isn’t the player you’d want behind your striker.
The likes of Leicester, Everton and Southampton are the usual suspects for the top 10, and they are likely to spend a bit of money. So Burnley should back their manager with a few million quid so that the side can finish as high as possible.
#1 Liverpool’s run goes on
Many thought that the result against Tottenham could potentially break Liverpool’s season. The Liverpool fans – who’d tremble when opposition countered their side -- were desperate for some sort of a cauterising effect, and credit to Klopp for tweaking his setup. Unlike last season’s gung-ho approach, the Reds have been pragmatic at times this season.
Klopp has, at times, switched to a 4-4-2 setup, providing more cover for the back four. Without the presence of a defensive midfielder, the team still has weakness while defending. The game against Arsenal was the best example, but overall, the team has improved when they don’t have the ball.
That has culminated in a 13-game run where they are yet to lose. What is impressive is Klopp’s side have conceded more than one goal just once in the run; against Arsenal which ended 3-3.
