WRITTEN BY Dan Ghorbal – @GhorbalDan
Alisson- 8/10
Magnificent performance from Alisson today, although the majority of the saves he had to make ended up being from offside opposition players, he was alert and swept things up impressively all afternoon. Dealt with a few corners superbly too which is always difficult in conditions like that. Rubber-stamped his status as one of Liverpool’s most vital players this afternoon.
Alexander-Arnold 6/10
Not his best game to say the least, a few loose touches in the first half and lapses of concentration, but dug in well and managed to nullify the threat of Burnley’s wide men with relative comfort. Set piece delivery was good throughout and he will be vital for the reds in the upcoming weeks.
Van Dijk 8/10
Excellent performance from the big Dutchman, Burnley’s strikers possess a lot of strength and physicality, but he dealt with the long balls in the swirling winds very well. On the few occasions Burnley got behind Liverpool, he was there to sweep up the danger and bring the game forward. His organisation of the line was excellent, and distribution to the wide men was as accurate as always. Superb.
Matip 7/10
First half, Joel was slightly shakey, conceding possession softly a few times, but defensively he did well in what was an important clean sheet for Liverpool. His communication with Van Dijk and fellow members of the back line was good, and the number of times Burnley were caught offside shows how switched on the whole defence was. I was surprised that Matip started with a big midweek fixture against Inter Milan upcoming, but I suspect Jurgen just wanted to get this one out the way and Norwich may be the game where we see changes, with Konate probably in line for a start.
Robertson 7/10
Another player who grew into the game the longer it went on. Whether it was weariness in the first half or not, the reds struggled at stages, but Robertson’s energy levels were typically impressive. The Liverpool full-back was solid in the second half up against Maxwell Cornet, and it was from his delivery where the only goal of the game came. A good performance from Robbo.
Henderson 6/10
A bit of a struggle for the captain today. Coming back from a minor injury, it was always going to be difficult for Hendo to get into things at a good pace, and a few times he was pounced upon by Burnley’s energetic press. Despite that, he still produced some excellent deliveries and could’ve had an assist if Mane had gambled on a first-time peach into the box.
Keita 7/10
I was impressed by Naby Keita today coming back into the side. The Guinean was neat and tidy on the ball, kept things ticking at times and nearly scored a lovely goal, being denied by a fantastic Nick Pope save. We have seen this with Keita throughout his Liverpool career, it will be good to see him maintain this level of performance consistently. If so he can be a real asset from now until the end of the season, the conditions from start to finish were atrocious but he dealt with them well.
Fabinho 9/10
Magnificent today from Fabinho who has suddenly become one of Liverpool’s source of goals. It was his instinctive finish that saw Klopp’s side gain all three points, and this is something we have seen regularly in the last few weeks. As well as his massive threat from set pieces, he was imperious in the middle of the park, winning many duels, breaking up play regularly and supporting the centre-half pairing throughout. A crucial player for Liverpool and another wonderful performance.
Salah 6/10
It wasn’t Mo’s day today. Some nice touches and drives at the Burnley defence certainly caught the eye, but ultimately he couldn’t get into the game as much as he’d hope. A couple of decisions with end product were slightly wrong but his involvement at AFCON means that rhythm and freshness are undoubtedly lacking at this minute. It was a good 90 minutes under the belt for Liverpool’s talisman, getting him back into the pace of the side. Although he’s played more football than anyone recently, the contrast in styles in Egypt and Liverpool are hard to adapt to.
Firmino 6/10
Similarly, Firmino couldn’t really get into the game much either. First half, he was rarely threatening and struggled to create any meaningful chances. Burnley defended with real intensity and made it difficult for Liverpool’s attacking players to get hold of the ball, thus making it difficult for Bobby to strut his stuff. In the second half, I was impressed by his ball retention and slowing down of the game at stages where Liverpool just needed to take the sting out. He was typically unselfish with his work-rate, always helping out teammates and ensuring that the team came first.
Mane 6/10
On his return from a victorious AFCON campaign, Sadio Mane’s performance was similar to that of Salah and Firmino. He was perhaps more of threat than his aforementioned colleagues, and could’ve scored when his close range effort was saved well by Nick Pope. But most importantly, it was good to get him back into the side and some rhythm heading into the vast number of upcoming fixtures. Fighting on all fronts, it is imperative that the likes of Mane get into things again, and there were some promising signs in today’s win.
Subs:
Thiago 7/10
Brought some calmness to the game when it was much needed. Thiago was one of Liverpool’s best players in the win against Leicester, and today’s cameo was impressive all the same. He really controlled things when he came on, and in the last 15 minutes I was impressed by his professionalism, at no point was he going for the audacious passes, he was simply picking out teammates with assurance and keeping things ticking over. This sort of form from Thiago heading into a key Champions League tie is a luxury.
Jota 6/10
Came on relatively late in the game after picking up a dead leg in training yesterday, had a good chance to make it 2-0 but fluffed his lines. His chance got a nice rendition though, and I have no doubts he’ll be back fit and firing for Inter Milan.
Milner N/A
Another Premier League appearance for Milner after talks about him signing a new contract arose yesterday. Did he touch the ball? I don’t think he did to be honest.
